The drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals made history in June by launching the first-ever generic version of a GLP-1 diabetes drug. This revolutionary class of medications, which are also growing increasingly popular as treatments for obesity, has proven astoundingly effective in helping diabetes patients manage their condition.

The availability of Teva's generic for Novo Nordisk's Victoza ensures that more patients will have access to these state-of-the-art therapies -- and at lower cost.

The launch is good for the health of millions of Americans living with type 2 diabetes. It's also a textbook case of how the life sciences industry is supposed to work. Leaps in innovation soon lead to mass-scale availability.

The list of people and organizations who deserve credit for the GLP-1 success story is long. What's undeniable, though, is that none of it would have been possible were it not for our country's system of intellectual property protections.

When the first GLP-1 drugs came on the scene less than two decades ago, they were greeted by the medical community as a major step forward in the treatment of diabetes. And in the years since, GLP-1 drugs have established themselves as among the most powerful tools available for improving glycemic efficacy, promoting weight loss, and lowering blood pressure.

Their benefits may not end there. In fact, researchers are currently investigating whether these medicines can also help treat conditions like dementia and addiction.

All of which makes Teva's recent announcement cause for celebration. Now that the first generic GLP-1 therapy has launched, the benefits of these drugs will be available to patients at a much lower cost.

But while the GLP-1 therapies have earned a reputation as "miracle drugs," their path from the laboratory to the generic market is anything but miraculous. On the contrary, America's drug research ecosystem is specifically designed to generate success stories of this kind.

Patent protection plays an indispensable role in that process. Inventing a new cure or treatment is always a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. Bringing a new drug to FDA approval costs an average of $2.6 billion, counting the investment dollars utterly lost on the nearly 90% of drugs entering clinical trials that fail along the way. Any scientist or company that pursues a new drug is taking on massive risk.

Patents make it worthwhile for scientists and their investors to take that risk. Patents give their holders a sole right to sell the products they have developed for a limited period of time. If a drug succeeds, drugmakers can use that window of protection to earn back their initial investments and make a return -- before their exclusive rights expire and low-cost generics can enter the market.

And in the case of GLP-1 drugs, this process worked perfectly. What began as early-stage laboratory research undertaken with patent protection led to approval of a real-world drug -- and now a low-cost generic. Those involved in developing the medicine had a fair opportunity to earn a financial reward for their efforts.

Now, with Teva's release of a generic version of Victoza, patients at all income levels can reap the health benefits of this remarkable therapy. The FDA has also tentatively approved another generic version of Victoza from London-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals.

Stories such as these are a lot more common than most realize. To date, the FDA has approved more than 32,000 generic drugs -- including more than 900 last year alone. Over 90% percent of the prescriptions filled in the United States are for generics -- the highest rate of generic use in the world. But there would be no generics if patent protection didn't give drug developers the incentive to start the process.

This state of affairs is rarely reflected in the public debate over drug prices. Indeed, the conventional wisdom suggests that drug prices have gotten out of control -- around eight in ten Americans tend to agree. But while this is true for new drugs in some specific cases, high-priced brand-name drugs represent a small minority of the prescriptions filled each year. And the brand-name prices will come down as soon as generics enter the market -- which they will.

This is exactly as it should be. When America's life sciences ecosystem -- including its IP system -- works as intended, it can simultaneously drive medical science forward, while also promoting affordability and access through a vibrant generic market. Teva's announcement is the latest example of this process succeeding. But it won't be the last.

Howard Dean is the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Vermont.