Eight healthy volunteers received a 1,000-mg single oral dose of 2085P which consisted of 800 mg of pivampicillin and 200 mg of brobactam. Concentrations of ampicillin and brobactam in plasma, inflammatory fluid, and urine were measured over the subsequent 24 h. Pivampicillin and brobactam were moderately rapidly absorbed. The mean (standard deviation) maximum concentration in plasma (Cmax) of ampicillin was 8.2 (1.9) micrograms/ml, and that of brobactam was 2.1 (2.0) micrograms/ml at mean times of 1.9 (0.5) and 2.3 (0.8) h, respectively. The elimination half-lives in plasma were 1.8 (0.5) and 1.6 (2.0) h, respectively. Both agents penetrated the experimentally induced inflammatory fluid, reaching a mean maximum at 3 h. The Cmax of ampicillin was 6.8 (2.3) micrograms/ml, and that of brobactam was 1.0 (0.4) micrograms/ml. The penetration (derived by comparing the area under the concentration-time curve from 0 h to infinity for inflammatory fluid with that for plasma) was 97.3% (26.0%) for ampicillin and 81% (22.3%) for brobactam. The 24-h urinary recovery was 54.2% (16.6%) of the administered dose for ampicillin and 40.2% (11.4%) for brobactam. These data suggest that this combination of beta-lactam and inhibitor should be efficacious in treating infections caused by ampicillin-resistant pathogens.