Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/311,216

PRODRUGS OF ANTI-CANCER AND ANTI-AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES THERAPEUTIC AGENTS, AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USE THEREOF

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jun 04, 2021
Examiner
ROBINSON, MIKHAIL O'DONNEL
Art Unit
1627
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE
OA Round
4 (Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
3y 6m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allow Rate
59 granted / 103 resolved
-2.7% vs TC avg
Strong +48% interview lift
Without
With
+47.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
50 currently pending
Career history
153
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
§103
41.6%
+1.6% vs TC avg
§102
20.9%
-19.1% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 103 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Page 1, filed 10/20/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-9 and 20 under Douguet et al. (US 20080086907) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Yamamoto et al. Boron-10 carriers for NCT. A new synthetic method via condensation with aldehydes having boronic moiety, October 1989, Pages 7191-7194. Yamamoto teaches boron-10 nucleoside derivates compounds that reads to the compounds of claimed invention. Applicant has added claims 30-31. No new matter was added. Claims 1-22 and 30-31 are now pending. Claims 1-22 and 30-31 is now evaluated on its merits. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. Claims 1-6, 8-9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamamoto et al. Boron-10 carriers for NCT. A new synthetic method via condensation with aldehydes having boronic moiety, October 1989, Pages 7191-7194. Regarding claims 1-6, 8-9 and 20, Yamamoto teaches compounds that are boron- 10 containing nucleoside derivatives for neutron capture therapy. Of the compounds Yamamoto teaches PNG media_image1.png 169 158 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 122 164 media_image2.png Greyscale and PNG media_image3.png 214 185 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 69 163 media_image4.png Greyscale and an acceptable carrier (relevant to claims 1-6, 8-9 and 20) (Fig.1 and Fig.2). The above compounds read to claimed invention of Formula 102 wherein D being a pyrimidine prodrug moiety, at least one R1-R5 is B(ORa)ORb, Rc or Rd is hydrogen and the other is a substituted alkyl. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7, 10-19 and 21-22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claims 30-31 are free of the arts. Closest prior art is of Douguet et al. (US Patent No. 20080096907) which teaches PNG media_image5.png 92 149 media_image5.png Greyscale PNG media_image6.png 386 274 media_image6.png Greyscale (para. 0038). The teachings of Douguet differs from claimed invention of the structure of D. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0777. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm. 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, Kortney Klinkel can be reached at 571-270-5239. 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. MIKHAIL O'DONNEL. ROBINSON Examiner Art Unit 1627 /MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1627 /SARAH PIHONAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 04, 2021
Application Filed
May 17, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Sep 19, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 19, 2024
Response Filed
Dec 03, 2024
Final Rejection — §102
Feb 11, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
May 22, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
May 27, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 16, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Oct 20, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12600729
NEW-TYPE BENZAZEPINE FUSED RING DERIVATIVE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12595247
SUBSTITUTED PYRAZOLO PIPERIDINE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12590086
3-((1H-PYRAZOL-4-YL)METHYL)-6'-(PHENYL)-2H-(1,2'-BIPYRIDIN)-2-ONE DERIVATIVES AND RELATED COMPOUNDS AS GPR139 ANTAGONISTS FOR USE IN A METHOD OF TREATMENT OF E.G. DEPRESSION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12583871
PRMT5 INHIBITORS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12583825
BENZO[H]QUINAZOLIN-4-AMINE AND THIENO[3,2-H]QUINAZOLIN-4-AMINE DERIVATIVES FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
57%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+47.7%)
3y 6m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 103 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month