A little purple pill called Prilosec is the world's largest selling prescription drug, generating $4.6 billion a year in U.S. sales alone.

No wonder its manufacturer, AstraZeneca, will do almost anything to extend its patent and exclusive rights to sell the drug, said Alan Lubin, executive vice president of New York State United Teachers,

If the patent expired, it would allow the makers of generic equivalents to enter the market, charging 35 to 40 percent less. By initiating lawsuits against generic manufacturers and applying for new patents on the same product, AstraZeneca repeatedly has saved the cash cow.

The patent for the active ingredient in Prilosec, an acid reflux and ulcer medication, was twice extended, through loopholes in a 1984 federal law. Legal challenges and additional patents by the company have prolonged exclusivity past the expiration of the original patent, Oct.5.

"This kind of exploitation of the consumer is a large part of the fiscal crisis in health care," said Lubin, who chairs a state AFL-CIO Task Force on Prescription Drugs. "The whole country has been overpaying for many medicines for years while brand-name pharmaceutical manufacturers play legal games."

Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have introduced a bill to amend that 1984 law to improve the situation, Lubin said. The bill aims to get generic drugs to consumers faster by eliminating automatic stays for pharmaceutical companies that sue generic manufacturers for patent infringement. It would make it impossible for companies to retain exclusive rights simply by securing new patents for inconsequential changes, such as the color or shape of a pill.

"This is not the only answer," Lubin said, "but it's clear that the fiscal crisis in health care will not be resolved until this abuse is stopped."

Over the next five years, patents are due to expire on brand-name drugs worth $35 billion in annual sales, and generic drugs have the potential to save consumers billions on these every year, Lubin said.

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