It has cut off the supply of insulin to Greece over a government order that all medicine prices be slashed 25 percent says Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk.

A spokesman for the company told the BBC that Novo Nordisk, the world's leading supplier of the diabetes drug insulin, is pulling the drug from the Greek market because the mandated price cut would force the company's Greek division to operate at a loss. It also worried other countries could look to Greece's example when setting drug prices, the company said.

More than 50,000 Greek diabetics rely on Novo Nordisk's insulin, which is injected with a device that resembles a pen.

It was also reported that Novo Nordisk's move drew condemnation in Greece, the where the Greek Diabetes Association called it brutal blackmail" and "a violation of corporate social responsibility."

It imposed the price cut as part of an effort to cut medical costs as the country struggles to reduce its debt, Greece also said.

Pavlos Panayotacos, whose 10-year-old daughter, Nephele, has diabetes, criticized Novo Nordisk in a letter to its chairman.

He further wrote, "As an economist I realize the importance of making a profit, but healthcare is more than just the bottom line. As you well may know, Greece is presently in dire economic and social straits, and you could not have acted in a more insensitive manner at a more inopportune time." (With Inputs from Agencies)