DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/6/2026 has been entered.
3. Previously presented claims 145-151, and 156-171, (2/6/2025), are under consideration by the Examiner.
Claims 1-144, and 152-155 have been canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/6/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and has been considered by the examiner.
Applicant is reminded of their duty to disclose to the Office all information known to the person to be material to patentability as defined in 37 CFR 1.56. As stated therein, “[e]ach individual associated with the filing and prosecution of a patent application has a duty of candor and good faith in dealing with the Office, which includes a duty to disclose to the Office all information known to that individual to be material to patentability as defined in this section”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a), lack of written description
5. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
5a. Claims 145-151, and 156-171, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
This rejection is maintained for reasons of record set forth at pages 2-14 of the previous Office action of 6/5/2024 and pages 2-4 of the previous Office action of 12/6/2024.
Since Applicants have failed to present arguments to demonstrate the error in this rejection by the Examiner, this rejection is maintained for reasons of record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
6. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
7a. Claims 145-151, and 156-171 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 145, lines 24-25, recites “an inflammasome inducer,……., an inducer of NLRP3 inflammasome, an inducer of AIM2 inflammasome, an inducer of NLRC4 inflammasome, an inducer of NLRP1 inflammasome, and ….” which is an improper Markush claim because a genus “an inflammasome inducer” and species “an inducer of NLRP3 inflammasome, an inducer of AIM2 inflammasome, an inducer of NLRC4 inflammasome, an inducer of NLRP1 inflammasome” are recited in the same claim.
Claims 146-151, and 156-171, are rejected as vague and indefinite insofar as they depend on the above rejected claim for their limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
8. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
8a. Claims 145-151, 156-168, and 171 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ali et al. (US 2013/0202707 A1).
This rejection is maintained for reasons of record set forth at pages 14-16 of the previous Office action of 6/5/2024, and pages 4-6 of the previous Office action of 12/6/2024.
Since Applicants have failed to present arguments to demonstrate the error in this rejection by the Examiner, this rejection is maintained for reasons of record.
Claim rejections-35 U.S.C. 103
9. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
9a. Claims 169-170 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali et al. (US 2013/0202707 A1).
This rejection is maintained for reasons of record set forth at pages 16-18 of the previous Office action of 6/5/2024, and pages 6-10 of the previous Office action of 12/6/2024.
Since Applicants have failed to present arguments and demonstrate the error in this rejection by the Examiner, this rejection is maintained for reasons of record.
Conclusion
No claim is allowable.
Claims 145-151, and 156-171, are rejected.
Advisory Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PREMA MARIA MERTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0876. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday from 7:30am to 6:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, VANESSA FORD, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-0857. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/PREMA M MERTZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1646
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