Cardboard packaging for Colobreathe

Empty cardboard packaging for 56 capsules and 1 Turbospin inhaler Colobreathe (colistimethate sodium), by TEVA, Europe, 2016-2017

Colobreathe is an inhalation version of colistimethate sodium for use with the Turbospin inhaler. This was previously available as a nebulised version, which took up to 30 minutes to take. The Turbospin inhaler which is small enough to be easily carried administers the necessary dose in less than a minute.

Colomycin is an antibiotic based on colistimethate sodium and is given by injection. It is used for people with limited treatment options who also have a bacterial infection. Colistimethate sodium is the first line of defence for people with cystic fibrosis. CF causes a build of mucus in the lungs, causing increasing lung infections and inflammations, including that caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Almost everyone with CF will have this bacterial infection at some point in their lives.

Colistin based anitbiotics have been available since the 1950s, but their use quickly decreased due to the availability of antibiotics with fewer potential side effects. Due in part to this limited use, colistimethate sodium has retained activity against a number of bacteria which have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics.

However, its use for livestock has caused resistance to the antibiotic in humans and animals.