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 .
Claim Status
Claims 2-5, 10, 25 have been cancelled and claims 1 and 12 have been amended, as requested in the amendment filed on 08/21/2026. Following the amendment, claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 are pending in the instant application.
Claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 are under examination in the instant office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 - Withdrawn
Claim 25 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 is maintained because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. It is noted that claim 25 has been cancelled, rendering its rejection moot. As such, the rejection of claim 25 under 35 U.S.C. 101 is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 - Withdrawn
Claim 12 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for depending from a cancelled claim. Claim 12 has been amended to depend from claim 1, rendering the rejection moot. As such, the rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 - Maintained
The rejection of claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 under 35 U.S.C. 101 is maintained because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. Furthermore, the claims do not integrate said judicial exception in to practical application, and the claims do not recite additional elements that amount to significantly more than said judicial exception.
Response to Arguments - 35 USC § 101
Applicant's arguments filed 08/21/2026 (herein after referred to as “Remarks”) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues on Page 7 of Remarks that claim 1 has been amended to include the additional step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment to the subject having the CCR5-expressing cancer. In view of the amendment, Applicant asserts that the claims as amended rely on the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception.
While it is acknowledged that claim 1 has been amended to include the additional step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment to the subject having the CCR5-expressing cancer, the amendment is not considered a practical application of the judicial exception. The additional step of “administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment to the subject” is simply appending well-understood, routine, conventional activity of treating cancer; treatment with a “therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment” is a treatment specified at a high level of generality, and it is a limitation that is well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field of treating cancer and does not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception (see MPEP 2106.05(d)). The step of “administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment to the subject” is also a generic instruction to apply the judicial exception, or an insignificant extra-solution activity, and is not considered a practical application of the judicial exception. Applying or using the judicial exception to effect a particular treatment is considered a practical application, however, in the instant claims, a “therapeutically effective amount of a cancer treatment” is not considered a particular treatment (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). Therefore, the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application, the answer to step 2B is still “No”, and therefore the claims are not eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. Thus, the rejection of claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 under 35 U.S.C. 101 is maintained.
Conclusion
Claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 are pending. Claims 1, 6-9, 11-24, and 26-27 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ALYSSA RAE STONEBRAKER whose telephone number is (571)270-0863. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samira Jean-Louis can be reached at (571)270-3503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALYSSA RAE STONEBRAKER/Examiner, Art Unit 1642
/SAMIRA J JEAN-LOUIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1642
