It started with Canada a few months ago. The Ontarian legislature took the bold step of cutting down reimbursement prices of all major generic drugs by 25%.. This caused a major uproar in all corners particularly consumers and pharmacies. The Consumers would be facing a major impact of the reduction in reimbursement as they would no longer be able to afford the medicines they were able to buy based on their stipulated health insurance policies.

Further the pharmacies would be compelled to stock only those medicines which are priced lesser for a particular disease and that would be coupled without or min incentive an incentive on the stocking price.

Pharma majors have been compelled to reduce prices of their products by the governments if they want to sell in their countries. A recent example of this is Greece. Novo Nordisk refuses to sell its 17 of its important products at lower prices following the recent declaration by the Greece government to cut drug prices by 25%.

The price cuts form part of the Greek government's attempts to deal with the nation's massive debt crisis, imposed in return for a bail-out package worth 100 billion euros pledged to Greece by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the eurozone member states last month. Novo Nordisk was first to reject the price cuts, stating that it will withdraw supplies of 17 of its most advanced products on a temporary basis. The firm has refused to implement the price cuts on its modern insulin products and those administered through pen injection systems and, as a result, wholesalers have stopped ordering them; it will however continue supplying human insulin products in Greece at the new lower prices. Then on May 30, Leo Pharma reported that it had issued a Notification Letter of Discontinuation concerning the potential withdrawal of 18 of the company's 29 products currently sold on the Greek market, although it stressed that it would ensure alternative treatment options for Greek patients are provided by its remaining products.