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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
DETAILED ACTION
Status of claims
The amendment filed on 10/23/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 9-12 have been withdrawn. Claims 1-8 are under examination in the instant office action.
Rejections withdrawn
Applicant’s amendments and arguments filed on 10/23/2025 are acknowledged and have been fully considered. Any rejection and/or objection not specifically addressed below is herein withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments have overcome the claim objection of claims 4, 7, and 8 from the previous Office Action. The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set of rejections and/or objections presently being applied to the instant application.
Rejections maintained
The following rejection of the claims is remained for reasons of record and the following.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McClain et al. (US 2010/0241220 A1).
McClain et al. meet all of the limitations of claims 1-3. McClain et al. disclose a coated coronary stent (the instant claim 2) comprising stent, a plurality of layers deposited on said stent to form said coronary stent with at least one of said layers comprising bioabsorbable polymer (the claimed coating agent in the instant claim 3) and one or more active agents (abstract); wherein the one or more active agents include pharmaceutical agent such as chemotherapeutic agents (paragraph 87) which include distamycin (paragraph 96).
With respect to the art rejection above, it is noted that the reference does not teach that the composition can be used in the manner instantly claimed, [clot retrieval in claim 1 and intended to be in contact with a clot in claim 3]; a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Response to Applicants’ arguments:
Applicants argue that the claimed clot retrieval device is a stent retriever as "a cylindrical device consisting of a self-expanding stent mounted on a wire and deployed within a catheter" (paragraph 32).
However, this argument is not deemed persuasive. The clot retrieval device being “a stent retriever as a cylindrical device consisting of a self-expanding stent mounted on a wire and deployed within a catheter" is not claimed. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Thus, Applicant’s arguments are not commensurate in scope with the claims.
Claims 4-8 are free of prior art and are allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 HONG YU whose telephone number is (571)270-1328. The examiner can normally be reached on 9 am - 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Soroush can be reached on 571-272-9925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HONG YU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614