A drug company develops new drugs as brand-name drugs under patent protection which involves huge expenses on research & development further expenses on promotion. This in turn protects the investment in the drug's development by giving the drug company the sole right to manufacture and sell the brand-name drug while the patent is in effect. All this leads to huge cost which usually taken from patient's pocket. When patents or other periods of exclusivity expire, other manufacturers can submit an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) to the FDA for approval to market a generic version of the brand-name drug. Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they are typically sold at a cheaper price than the brand-name drug because the drug has not been developed from scratch, and the costs to bring the drug to market are less.