Why name brands prescription drugs usually cost more

When the pain reliever acetaminophen was developed in the 1950s, it was only available under its brand name, Tylenol. Today, you can find acetaminophen in many generic and store-brand versions.

Similarly, many drug products – prescription and over-the-counter – have generic versions available. An estimated 44 percent of all prescriptions in the United States are filled with generic drugs.

When pharmaceutical manufacturers create new, brand-name prescription drugs, they have patents that protect their investments by giving them the sole right to sell the drug while the patents are in effect.

When patents and other exclusive marketing rights for brand-name drugs near expiration, other manufacturers can apply to the Food and Drug Administration to sell generic versions.

The law that allows approval of generic products – the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 – builds in certain protections for the original drug developer – including patents and marketing exclusivities.

But it also allows drug sponsors of identical products to apply for FDA approval without repeating the original developer’s expensive clinical trials. The law also encourages generic firms to challenge innovator patents by awarding marketing exclusivity to the first generic version challenge.

When will my medication go generic?

If you want to know when your brand-name medication will be going generic, type [drug name + patent expiration] into a search engine. You’re likely to get an answer that way.