Antibacterial agents and potentiators of carbapenem antibiotics

Claim 1

A pharmaceutical composition useful in the treatment of antibacterial infections which comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a pharmaceutically effective amount to treat bacterial infections of an antibacterial compound of formula I: ##STR53## wherein R 1 is H, or CH 3 ; R 2 is (a) hydrogen; (b) C 1 -C 12 linear or branched alkyl; (c) C 1 -C 12 linear or branched monoalkenyl; (d) C 7 -C 20 aralkyl, wherein the alkyl chain is linear or branched C 1 -C 8 and wherein said above values from R 2 can be substituted by one halo, hydroxy, carboxy, C 1 -C 4 alkoxycarbonyl, C 7 -C 16 arylalkoxycarbonyl, C 3 -C 7 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 6 -C 12 aryloxy, amino, mono- or di-C 1 -C 8 alkylamino, thio, C 1 -C 4 alkylthio, C 6 -C 12 arylthio, C 7 -C 16 aralkylthio, or the radical --S--(CH 2 ) n --CH--(NH 2 )COOH, where n=1-2; with the proviso that R 2 is at least C 2 alkyl if substituted by one of the above-defined thio groups, and wherein the aryl ring can be further substituted by one C 1 -C 4 linear or branched alkyl, trihalomethyl, nitro, halo, cyano or sulfonamido; R 3 and R 4 are hydrogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl; wherein the carbon atoms attached to R 1 are D(S) or DL(SR) and R 2 are D(R) or DL(RS) stereoconfiguration.