Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/292,689

USE OF AN ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUND AS A DNA-DEMETHYLATING AGENT

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 10, 2021
Examiner
COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY
Art Unit
1624
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
INSERM
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allow Rate
1201 granted / 1604 resolved
+14.9% vs TC avg
Strong +15% interview lift
Without
With
+15.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
1650
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§102
16.9%
-23.1% vs TC avg
§112
52.3%
+12.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1604 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Claims 7 and 23-32 are pending in the application. This action is in response to applicants' amendment dated October 22, 2025. Claims 7, 23 and 24 have been amended and claims 1-6, 20 and 22 have been canceled. Response to Amendment Applicant's arguments filed October 22, 2025 have been fully considered with the following effect: The applicant's amendments and arguments are sufficient to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), anticipation rejection, labeled paragraph 3) in the last office action, which is hereby withdrawn. In view of the amendment dated October 22, 2025, the following new grounds of rejection apply: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. Claims 7 and 24-32 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. The following reasons apply: Claim 7 and claims dependent thereon are vague and indefinite in that it is not known what is meant by the definitions of the variables R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 which are stated in the form of a range “to”. Claim 24 and claims dependent thereon are vague and indefinite in that it is not known what is meant by the variables R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 in formula (I) which are not defined within the claim. Claim 24 and claims dependent thereon are vague and indefinite in that it is not known what is meant by the definition of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 where there are no variables R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 in formula (I). Claim 25 is vague and indefinite in that it is not known what is meant by "R1 to R6, which is a range which does not particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicants regard as the invention, i.e. it fails to indicate that which is embraced by the range. The definitions of each individual variable must be clearly set forth herein. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 23 is allowed. None of the prior art of record nor a search in the pertinent art area teaches the pharmaceutical composition of the specific species of formula (I) where R1, R3, R4 and R6 are each hydrogen and R2 and R5 are each PNG media_image1.png 105 125 media_image1.png Greyscale as claimed herein. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA L COLEMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0665. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-6 (flex). 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) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey H. Murray can be reached at 571-272-9023. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /BRENDA L COLEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 10, 2021
Application Filed
Jul 24, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Oct 30, 2024
Response Filed
Oct 30, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 02, 2024
Final Rejection — §112
Mar 13, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 13, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 26, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Jul 01, 2025
Response Filed
Jul 18, 2025
Final Rejection — §112
Sep 22, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 22, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Nov 24, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 25, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12595259
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Patent 12590081
FUSED IMIDAZOLE DERIVATIVES, PREPARATION METHOD AND MEDICINAL USE THEREOF
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Patent 12575569
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Patent 12577262
FUNCTIONALIZED GOLD CARBENE NAPTHAQUINONE COMPLEXES FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+15.4%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1604 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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