The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued a final guidance recommending Novartis’s Tobi Podhaler tobramycin DPI and Forest Lab’s Colobreathe colistimethate sodium DPI for the treatment of P. aeruginosa lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients when patients are unable to use other treatments. In January 2013, NICE issued a final draft guidance regarding the two products.
The guidance recommends use of the Tobi Podhaler when nebulized tobramycin is not an option and when the DPI is provided at a discount. It recommends Colobreathe when patients are unable to tolerate nebulized colistimethate sodium and the price of the DPI is discounted.
NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director Carole Longson commented, “The primary cause of death in people with cystic fibrosis is respiratory failure resulting from chronic pulmonary infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We are pleased to recommend both colistimethate sodium and tobramycin dry powders for inhalation as options for treating such infections in people with cystic fibrosis.”
According to NICE, there are approximately 8,000 CF patients in the UK.
Read the NICE press release.
