Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? Germans Get It for $55

Generics, as traditionally understood, are copies of brand name drugs made by competing manufacturers once the original patent protection has expired. To be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, they have to have the same active chemical ingredients as the brand drug, and be absorbed equally into the blood, though they could look different and contain different inactive additives. That is why brand manufacturers sometimes produce an authorized generic once they lose patent protection.

Source: www.nytimes.com