All pharmaceutical companies should have a license from the Food and Drug Administration to market and sell the products. They have to submit the new drug application that contains information about the clinical, safety, and efficiency of the products. It may also contain information about the characteristics of the drug dosage form such as manufacturing process, drug stability, purity, etc.

When a company has received the FDA approval, they are allowed to market and sell the brand name products as long as the period of the patent protection of the product. The application process of the new drug may cost about $802 million for 10 to 15 years period. The product patent enables the company to sell the product exclusively in order to gain money that has been spent for the development of products as well as to reach profits. Some differences between the brand name and generic prescription drugs are in the patent life. When the patent life on the brand name product is expired, it can be made in a generic drug.

The drug might be different in color, shape, taste, preservatives, and packaging. However, the generic drug manufacturers should use the same ingredients, dosage form, and concentration as the brand name products to ensure the same quality of products. So, the major difference of the two drug prescriptions is not on the quality rather than the patent protection of the products.