NEWS
& TRENDS
PHARMACY DEAN INDICTED
ON SEXUAL ASSAULT
CHARGES
T
he dean of the University of
Arizona College of Pharmacy
has been indicted on felony
sexual assault charges following
accusations that he attacked a
woman at his house. The woman
told investigators that she had
drinks with a friend in early
October and dean Jessie Lyle
Bootman, a business acquaintance
of hers, had approached them.
Bootman allegedly bought the
woman and her friend a drink,
and then invited the woman to
see his house since she worked in
real estate. At the house, Bootman
purportedly gave her another
drink, and a tour. The last thing the
woman remembered was trying
to get her purse to leave, blacking
out, and then waking up the next
morning with blood on her hand
and face, she told investigators.
Detectives searched Bootman's
house for evidence of sexual
assault and date rape drugs and
found incriminating evidence but
did not specify what it was. The
woman told law enforcement that
she did not have a prior sexual
relationship with Bootman and did
not give consent.
The University of Arizona put
the pharmacy dean on paid
administrative leave from his posi-
tion as dean, for which he is paid
$287,000 a year. He pleaded not
guilty to charges of sexual assault,
sexual abuse, and aggravated
assault.
WALGREENS REACHES DEAL
TO ACQUIRE RITE AID
W
algreens will acquire Rite
Aid in a $17.2 billion take-
over deal that will combine
the nation's second- and third-largest
pharmacy chains, pending regulatory
approval. Rite Aid currently operates
about 4600 drugstores in 31 states.
The company has worked to expand
its RediClinics and built a portfolio of
more than 1800 wellness stores that
feature consultation rooms for dis-
cussions with pharmacists. Walgreens
currently operates more than 13,200
stores across 11 countries, as well as
approximately 400 Healthcare Clinics
throughout the United States.
Rite Aid CEO John Standley stated
that the deal "will enhance our
store base and expand opportunities
as part of the first global pharmacy-
led, health and well-being enter-
prise." Both companies' boards have
approved the transaction, and the
deal is expected to close in the sec-
ond half of 2016.
National Community Pharmacists
Association CEO B. Douglas Hoey,
RPh, called on regulators to "closely
scrutinize" the deal to determine
the impact that it may have on small
pharmacy owners and the patients
they serve. "While large chain
pharmacies continue to merge to
increase their negotiating leverage,
independent community pharmacies
continue to fill gaps in patient care
in rural, urban, and underserved
communities," he said.
According to research firm
IBISWorld, Rite Aid controls 10%
market share of the pharmacy busi-
ness, while Walgreens control 51%.
16 PharmacyTimes.com December 2015
FIRST PRADAXA REVERSAL
AGENT RECEIVES FDA
APPROVAL
T
he FDA granted acceler-
ated approval to Boehringer
Ingelheim's idarucizumab
(Praxbind) for the rapid reversal of
the manufacturer's anticoagulant
dabigatran (Pradaxa). Praxbind is
the first reversal agent approved
specifically for Pradaxa, which ini-
tially nabbed the FDA's nod in 2010
for the prevention of stroke and
systemic blood clots in patients with
atrial fibrillation, as well as for the
treatment and prevention of deep
venous thrombosis and pulmonary
embolism.
"The anticoagulant effects of
Pradaxa are important and life-
saving for some patients, but
there are situations where reversal
of the drug's effects is medically
necessary," stated Richard Pazdur,
MD, director of the FDA's Office
of Hematology and Oncology
Products. "[This] approval offers
the medical community an impor-
tant tool for managing patients
taking Pradaxa in emergency or
life-threatening situations when
bleeding can't be controlled."
Praxbind's labeling recommends
that patients resume their antico -
agulant therapy as soon as medi-
cally appropriate, as reversing the
effect of Pradaxa exposes patients
to the risk of blood clots and stroke
from their initial condition.
n
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