Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 17/378,267

DETECTING COLORECTAL NEOPLASM

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 16, 2021
Priority
Mar 31, 2014 — provisional 61/972,942 +3 more
Examiner
WILDER, CYNTHIA B
Art Unit
1681
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Exact Sciences Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allowance Rate
642 granted / 905 resolved
+10.9% vs TC avg
Strong +27% interview lift
Without
With
+26.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
947
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
60.2%
+20.2% vs TC avg
§102
11.2%
-28.8% vs TC avg
§112
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 905 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. This application has been transferred from Primary Examiner Ethan Whisenant of Art unit 1683 to Primary Examiner Cynthia Wilder of Art Unit 1681. All future correspondence should be directed to Primary Examiner Cynthia Wilder, whose contact information appears at the end of this Office action. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/20/2026 has been entered. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/20/2026 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: (a) The use of the term “TruSeq, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application at page 54. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore, the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term. Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks. 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 2-5 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. (a) Claims 2-5 are indefinite in the claims 2 and 5 for the recitation of the limitation “SDC2” and “PPP2R5C” because abbreviations often have more than one meaning in the art. It is suggested inserting the full name of the abbreviation into the claim. Conclusion No claims are allowed. However, the claims have not been rejected under prior art. The closest prior art has already been made of record. An updated search did not reveal prior art over the claimed invention. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CYNTHIA B WILDER whose telephone number is (571)272-0791. The examiner can normally be reached Flexible. 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, GARY BENZION can be reached at 571-272-0782. 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. /CYNTHIA B WILDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1681
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 8 earlier events
Jan 15, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 03, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Sep 11, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 20, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 26, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 09, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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NUCLEIC ACID ENRICHMENT AND DETECTION
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4y 3m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12674754
METHOD FOR DETECTING TARGET BIOMOLECULE IN BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE, DISPOSABLE OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR THEREFOR, AND CARTRIDGE THEREOF
3y 4m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12674196
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3y 5m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12668848
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3y 10m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
71%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+26.7%)
3y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 905 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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