Pronova BioPharma ASA had its roots in Norway's codfish liver oil industry; it was founded in 1991 as a spinout from the JC Martens company, which in turn was founded in 1838 in Bergen, Norway [REF].
It won approvals to market the drug, called Omacor in Europe (and initially in the US) in several European countries in 2001 after conducting a three and a half year trial in 11,000 subjects;[REF] it partnered with other companies like Pierre Fabre in France [REF].