OBJECTIVES: The objective of generic drugs policies can be defined as reduction in health care expenditure without compromising health outcomes. This definition is based on the disinvestment aspect of drug policies. However, the objective of generic drug policies can be also defined from an investment perspective, especially in those countries with volume limits for the use of original patented drugs due to economic constraints: increase in population health gain by improved patient access without need for additional health expenditure. Our objective was to compare benefits of generic drugs policies in Germany vs Hungary. METHODS: We reviewed the grey literature and IMS database to identify pharmaceutical products with (1) patent expiry in recent years, (2) major therapeutic advancement to previous standard therapies, (3) no direct therapeutic alternative at patent expiry, (4) pharmacy distribution and consequently reliable IMS sales records in different countries. Then we compared aggregated annual volume sales in DOT and ex-factory sales for the selected pharmaceuticals in +/- 3 years before and after first generic entry.  RESULTS: In this analysis we present the case of clopidogrel. In Germany the volume sales of  clopidogrel products increased by 1.7% with 3 years after first generic entry, in Hungary the increase was 120.5%. The ex-factory sales were reduced after patent expiry in both countries, by 30.1% in Germany and by 59.5% in Hungary.      CONCLUSIONS: In Germany off-patent clopidogrel generated significant savings without volume increase. In Hungary generic products significantly improved the accessibility of patients to clopidogrel therapy, in addition to reducing pharmaceutical expenditure. Incremental health gain of off-patent medicines should not be underestimated in those countries, where accessibility of patients to patented medicines in restricted.