any news today?, page-65

I don't think the fact of retrospective analysis is by itself a killer. It would be readily accepted if the effect was strong. The mistake QRX made was to convince themselves that respiratory depression was the only key benefit required and that it was strong enough to overrule all objections. Can't blame them as respiratory depression is a major drawback of opioids. I am sure this will show up very well in at-risk groups. But then the product won't be registered for all population.

The other question about transdermal is another fool's errand. people have been trying for decades to develop transdermal doses for pain killers. The transfer across the skin is almost always too low for any useful effect. Of course the genuine exceptions are very low dose drugs like fentanyl, hormones and nicotine.