[Tuna-Fish]

Probably more "the company begged someone of high visibility to write their name on it".

Cost of advertising is a serious problem for generic drug makers. There are a lot of drugs where there exists an identical, cheaper, generic version, but the more expensive one gets sold because neither the doctors nor the patients have any idea that it exists. Hence all the "ask your doctor for x" ads, but the problem is that advertising on that scale, especially for low-incidence conditions, is very expensive compared to the amount of money you make, an so will result in just another expensive drug.

A celebrity putting their name on a drug company and then maybe mentioning it a few times publicly in places where normal people hear about it may make people who are facing very expensive drug bills look up the site and see if they make something useful for them.

[coredog64]

If there’s an actual generic (e.g. Naproxen Sodium :: Alleve), then your doctor just has to ensure that the Rx isn’t “fill as written”. The pharmacist can then offer you options (Namebrand at X times 5 or generic at X)

If it’s the case where there’s an older generic and a newer product still under patent, that’s a discussion with your doctor: Is the newer product worth the money, or should I stick with the older thing?