GV104326 is a novel tricyclic beta-lactam (a trinem or, formerly, tribactam). The in vitro activity of GV104326 was compared with those of cefuroxime, cefixime, amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefpirome, and ciprofloxacin. GV104326 had in vitro activity generally similar to that of cefixime against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited [MIC90], < or = 2 micrograms/ml), with cefuroxime and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid being 8- to 32-fold less active and with cefpirome being 4- to 8-fold more active against members of this family. The trinem had no activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (MIC90, > 128 micrograms/ml) but was the most active agent against Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. GV104326 was particularly active against gram-positive cocci. Ninety percent of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains were susceptible to 0.03 microgram of GV104326 per ml, making it the most active agent studied. Enterococci and Lancefield group A and B streptococci were generally equally or somewhat more susceptible to GV104326 than they were to amoxicillin. Streptococcus pneumoniae strains were highly susceptible to GV104326, and those strains which showed decreased susceptibility to penicillin were generally twofold more susceptible to the trinem than to amoxicillin. Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis were highly susceptible to GV104326 (MIC90s, 0.12 and 0.03 microgram/ml, respectively). The anaerobes Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis, and Peptostreptococcus spp. were more susceptible to the trinems (formerly tribactams) than to the other agents studied.