TORONTO - The bureaucrat leading Ontario's drug system overhaul that led to a war between pharmacists and the province is set to step down.

Helen Stevenson, the assistant deputy minister of health, has indicated she plans to leave the post, likely in late June, a source confirmed to The Canadian Press.

"Helen has worked tirelessly to implement the plan for lower drug prices," said a senior government source.

"She has helped reduce prices and use those savings to invest in more drugs being covered for Ontarians."

Stevenson took a pay cut a few years ago to join the civil service and drive the drug reforms, the source said. It was always understood that she would move on after the reforms were in place.

Her work reportedly led to angry letters, emails and calls -- even death threats -- dating back to 2006, when changes to the drug system were first proposed.

The governing Liberals have been fighting with pharmacists since announcing plans to eliminate so-called professional allowances -- fees generic drug companies pay pharmacists to stock their product.

It's a move they claim will cut the price of generic drugs by at least 50 per cent, knocking millions off the cost to the province's public drug plan for seniors and others.

But the pharmacists argue the changes could drive smaller pharmacies out of business and force others to cut hours and reduce services.

The regulatory changes, which were supposed to take effect May 15, have been put off until mid-June.

Stevenson was hired as a consultant in 2005 by the Health Ministry when she was president of Savattuq Inc. and received three sole-sourced contracts from the government totalling just over $1 million between 2005 and 2007.

The work involved developing new strategies to manage the province's drug costs, which led to legislation that saved the province almost $700 million over two years, according to government officials.

Stevenson was appointed assistant deputy minister in June 2007 after an open competition and took over the job of executive officer of Ontario's Public Drug Programs from then-deputy minister of health Ron Sapsford.

Stevenson currently makes $275,717 a year.