[VRWCmember]

Pharma companies are usually left with one of two options: they can sell their products at a greatly-reduced price, or they can not sell their product at all.

The second option also includes the fact that the governments of those price-fixing countries will also encourage and support counterfeit production of the pharma's products which erode the pharma's legitimate market share in neighboring markets. So it actually goes MUCH further than just "don't sell the product there at all".

[Lou L]

You are absolutely correct, VRW. In some cases, if pharmas don't sell in a country, crude generics will find their place within the market. You see this a lot in places like India and China.

[Buckeye McFrog]

or they can not sell their product at all.

In some European countries where this was tried, the government just turned their patents over to someone who was willing to produce the drug. I believe the French did this initially with the morning-after pill.

The real impact will be the shutting down of R&D and an end to the development of new drugs.