In December 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Daewoong Pharmaceuticals' application to sell the antibiotic, which is in reference to multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca's Merrem.
It marks the first time for a generic drug manufactured by a local drug firm to be sold the US, company officials said.

"The company hopes the launch of Meropenem will boost the image of South Korean pharmaceutical companies in the US drug market," said Lee Jong-wook, vice president of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, in a press release. "The company will step up efforts to bring internationally competitive products."

The US market for antibiotics is expected to be worth $760 million by 2019. The carbapenem segment, which accounts for half of the entire US antibiotics market, will expand at an annual rate of 4.5 percent, the company said. (Yonhap)