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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 9/11/2025 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-2 are pending. Claim 3 has been added. Claims 1-2 have been amended. Claims 1-2 are being examined in this application. In the response to the restriction requirement, Applicants elected moxifloxacin, ethyl alcohol and cyanocobalamin. Claim 3 is withdrawn as being drawn to a nonelected species.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This rejection has been modified.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PeaceHealth (downloaded from URL:<h ttps://www.peacehealth.org/medical-topics/id/hn-4012001>; 3/18/2015) in view of Al Omari et al. (Profiles of Drug Substances, Excipients and Related Methodology, 2014) and WebMD (downloaded from URL:<h ttps://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-152352/liquid-b-12-oral/details>; 8/28/2014).
PeaceHealth teaches that moxifloxacin is used to treat bacterial infections in the eye, and further teaches that its interactions with vitamin B12 are beneficial (page 1).
PeaceHealth do not teach that the composition comprises ethyl alcohol and a coloring agent configured to contrast the aqueous humor of the eye.
Al Omari et al. teach that moxifloxacin is soluble in alcohol (i.e. ethyl alcohol) (para 3.2).
WebMD teaches that cyanocobalamin i.e. a coloring agent) is a man-made form of vitamin B12 (page 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine moxifloxacin, alcohol and cyanocobalamin because moxifloxacin is soluble in alcohol, and its interactions with cyanocobalamin (i.e. a man-made form of vitamin B12) are beneficial.
With respect to the limitation “a coloring agent configured to contrast the aqueous humor of the eye”, it is noted that cyanocobalamin is the elected species, thus it would inherently contrast the aqueous humor of the eye.
Furthermore, the instant specification teaches that cyanocobalamin provides a contrast in color between the antibiotic solution and the aqueous humor (para [0027]).
Therefore, the claims are obvious as discussed above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 9/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the prior art fails to disclose, teach, or suggest an antibiotic solution comprising a coloring agent injectable into the aqueous humor of the eye.
Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive because, as discussed in the rejection above, the instant specification teaches that cyanocobalamin provides a contrast in color between the antibiotic solution and the aqueous humor.
For the reasons stated above, the rejection is maintained.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SERGIO COFFA whose telephone number is (571)270-3022. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 6AM-4PM.
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/SERGIO COFFA Ph.D./
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1658
/SERGIO COFFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1658