Swiss drugmaker Roche has halted deliveries of drugs to some state-owned Greek hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reported the company's chief executive as saying.

Roche CEO Severin Schwan told the Journal that the hospitals hadn't paid their bills.

Some hospitals haven't paid their bills in three or four years, Schwan said in a report on the WSJ website. There comes a point where the business is not sustainable anymore.

Roche is increasing its deliveries to pharmacies in Greece. Schwan told the Journal that patients were not being deprived of medication.

The company may need to take similar action in Spain, he said, and noted that some state-funded hospitals in Portugal and Italy are also late on their payments.

Roche could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)

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