Also, any other company spending money to spin up production and get FDA approval would face its incumbent competitor suddenly dropping its price to cost.  This lasts until the new entrant goes bankrupt or stops selling, and then the price jumps right back up to gouging territory.<p>The only way to eat the incumbent&#x27;s lunch in a worthwhile way would be to start out larger, so you can absorb the startup costs, and find a way to produce at lower marginal cost.<p>The FDA approval process for generics is part of the problem there.  It should be enough to do a chemical analysis showing that the molecules are the same.  The current FDA requirements are akin to having to prove that your new vodka can get someone drunk just as well as vodka from other vodka makers.  The active ingredient is ethanol.  Ethanol made by you and ethanol made by AB InBev is chemically indistinguishable.  As long as you can accurately report concentration, for the purposes of dosing, you shouldn&#x27;t have to prove that ethanol still gets people drunk when <i>you</i> are the one making it.  You should only need to prove that the amount of ethanol in your vodka matches the amount printed on the label.<p>So if your doctor prescribes 9.3 g ethanol, taken orally, once daily, your &quot;compounding pharmacist&quot; can give you a 1 oz. shot of any 80-proof beverage.  It doesn&#x27;t matter if it&#x27;s name-brand top shelf or generic rail, so long as it&#x27;s 40% alcohol by volume.