SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Palla Pharma helps to secure the supply of codeine for Europe
- Published 11 October 2024; updated 23 March 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. Listed as available in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa under Biopharma (Health and life science).
- Palla Pharma Norway manufactures codeine phosphate active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and finished dose formulations (FDF) at its Kragerø factory. The page says the site includes quality-control and microbiology laboratories and warehousing for raw materials and finished goods. The company reports more than 75 years of production history.
- The principal tablet formulation named is Co-Codamol 30/500 (30 mg codeine/500 mg paracetamol), sold in the UK. The page says Palla supplies products under multiple brands, employs 80 people and offers global delivery/service.
- The article frames European production as a way to reduce reliance on overseas manufacturing, particularly China and India, and strengthen access to critical medicines when global supply chains are disrupted. It describes the Kragerø plant as one of few mid-sized pharmaceutical factories remaining in Scandinavia and says the company is fully Norwegian-owned with the founding family still involved.
- Palla says its tablet-production capacity could quadruple and is seeking partners, especially smaller firms needing mid-sized manufacturing capacity in the first five to ten years of medicine development. The facility uses renewable hydropower and is adding scrubbers to make codeine production greener.
- Market context: the cited global pain-management drugs market forecast rises from USD 84.6 billion in 2023 to USD 109.9 billion by end-2028. Palla’s main markets are Germany, Italy and the UK; the company says it serves over 40 countries and is exploring Brazil, Canada and France. It says tablet certifications are underway and EU approval was pending at the time described.
- Linked to SDG 3, Good health and well-being, for medicine availability, and SDG 9, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, for lower-impact manufacturing.
- Contact: Asgeir Ringdal, Global Sales Director, asgeir.ringdal@pallapharma.no. Phone number is behind a collapsed reveal control. Company: PALLA PHARMA NORWAY AS, Gruveveien 1, 3770 Kragerø, Norway; pallapharma.com.