Might sound like a loaded question, but hear me out.
In the Good ol’ USA, generic drugs are required by the FDA to have the exact same make up as the name brand drug (ie. Benadryl vs generic Diphenhydramine). I’d imagine this is also a requirement in other countries.
So how exactly do those companies turn a profit when a generic version of their drug can swoop in and undercut them?
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New drugs and new variants are patented. So the brand drugs have exclusive rights to the drug for a period, typically 20 years. In that time generic drugs are not allowed so the brand name drug can be sold at higher prices and also get to market the drug. When generic drugs are allowed to be sold these companies are far behind and need to catch up. Firstly it does take some investment to start producing the drug, the factories needs to be set up and the drug needs to be approved. These costs are already paid down for the brand name so they can get better margins. In addition the brand name is already widely known to doctors and even the public. Since generic drugs can not use this brand in their marketing it is much harder to get doctors to write out perscriptions in anything but the brand name. Even pharmacists might not know about the generic drug or think that it might be an inferior product.
In other countries it can be quite different. There are often limits in place for marketing towards doctors, and marketing towards the public is strictly forbiden. There might also be stricter requirements on doctors and pharmacists to use the generic name rather then the brand name and inform patients about the options. Most countries have a single payer health system which allow them to negotiate better prices for the brand drugs as well. If brand names want more money then the generic drug they often lose the contract and will become unavailable in that country. And even patented drugs where no generic drug is availbale might end up not being sold because they want too much money, the patients that would have gotten the drug will instead get other treatment.
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