Sort of. Once the patent expires, the R&D machine will try hard to create new drugs that are just slightly different or potentially "better" in some vague small way for some small number of people, and then the sales/marketing machine will try hard to market to doctors and consumers the idea that this new, still patented version is the right thing and the best and the old stuff is crap.
The new stuff will actually benefit a tiny number of people, but mostly, you'll end up with a lot of those future generation which you think were going to save money, not saving any because they're wrongly prescribed a newer fancier drug that doesn't actually have any benefits for them over the old generic one. This is how pharma has their cake and eats it too.
The new stuff will actually benefit a tiny number of people, but mostly, you'll end up with a lot of those future generation which you think were going to save money, not saving any because they're wrongly prescribed a newer fancier drug that doesn't actually have any benefits for them over the old generic one. This is how pharma has their cake and eats it too.