Generic drugs are significantly less expensive than brand-name medications primarily because generic manufacturers do not need to invest the massive financial capital, time, and extensive research required to discover, test, and develop a new chemical entity from scratch. Brand-name pharmaceutical companies must recoup billions of dollars spent on initial laboratory research, complex clinical trials, and lengthy regulatory approval processes through high introductory prices during their patent protection window. Once those patents expire, multiple generic manufacturers can produce the identical active chemical formula without repeating those foundational research costs, leading to intense market competition and drastically lower retail prices for consumers.