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 . Claims included in the prosecution are claims 1, 8-13 and 16-20.
Applicants' arguments, filed 01/23/2026, have been fully considered. Rejections and/or objections not reiterated from previous office actions are hereby withdrawn. The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application.
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, 8-13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oto et al. (JP 2008280308 A, Nov. 20, 2008) (hereinafter Oto).
Oto discloses a hair papilla cell growth promoter containing at least one of an extract from tillite, amarogentin, and amarothwellin as an active ingredient, and further contains other ingredients as necessary (page 6 of translation). The other components in the hair papilla cell promoter are not limited as long as the effects of the composition are not impaired. For example, a pharmacologically acceptable carrier may be included (page 7 of translation). Suitable carriers include carboxymethylcellulose (page 8 of translation). The hair papilla cell growth promoter may be used to treat androgenetic alopecia (i.e., nonscarring alopecia) (i.e., a condition that is not caused by a disease or disorder) (page 10 of translation). The hair papilla cell growth promoter may be formulated as a hair lotion (page 14 of translation).
Oto anticipates the instant claims insofar as specifically disclosing using amarogentin to treat hair growth.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 8-13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oto et al. (JP 2008280308 A, Nov. 20, 2008) (hereinafter Oto).
The instant claims are believed to be anticipated by Oto. However, purely arguendo, for the purposes of complete prosecution, and for the purposes of this ground of rejection, Oto will be interpreted as though it does not anticipate the instant claims.
Oto discloses a hair papilla cell growth promoter containing at least one of an extract from tillite, amarogentin, and amarothwellin as an active ingredient, and further contains other ingredients as necessary (page 6 of translation). The other components in the hair papilla cell promoter are not limited as long as the effects of the composition are not impaired. For example, a pharmacologically acceptable carrier may be included (page 7 of translation). Suitable carriers include carboxymethylcellulose (page 8 of translation). The hair papilla cell growth promoter may be used to treat androgenetic alopecia (i.e., nonscarring alopecia) (i.e., a condition that is not caused by a disease or disorder) (page 10 of translation). The hair papilla cell growth promoter may be formulated as a hair lotion (page 14 of translation).
The prior art discloses a hair papilla cell growth promoter containing amarogentin as an active ingredient (page 6 of translation). This would provide a composition as claimed instantly.
The prior art is not anticipatory insofar as one must select amarogentin as the active ingredient in the reference. It would have been obvious, however, to make this combination since all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because new rejections necessitated by Applicant’s amendment have been made.
Conclusion
Claims 1, 8-13 and 16-20 are rejected.
No claims are allowed.
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/TRACY LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614