The aim of the study presented here was to evaluate the in vitro activity of faropenem, a new member of the penem class intended for oral administration, compared with 11 other antimicrobial agents against a large number of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from adults and children with bloodstream infections in France. The minimum inhibitory concentration of faropenem against 90% of the pediatric strains tested was generally one to two dilutions lower than the most potent beta-lactam agents (i.e., 0.5 micro g/ml for faropenem vs. 1 for amoxicillin, 1 for cefotaxime and 0.5 micro g/ml for ceftriaxone). Against the adult strains, only moxifloxacin had a MIC(90) value similar to faropenem (i.e., 0.25 micro g/ml for both agents). Faropenem seems to be a promising antimicrobial agent for the treatment of adult and pediatric Streptococcus pneumoniae infections.