DETAILED 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 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/6/26 has been entered.
Claims 23-28 and 46-52 are currently under examination.
Claims 31-40 and 42-43 remain withdrawn from consideration.
Rejections withdrawn:
The 112, first and second paragraph rejections and the 35 USC 103 rejection as obvious over Marr et al (US 2018/0156797; provided by Applicants) in view of Newman et al (2016/0320390; provided by Applicants) have been obviated and are withdrawn pursuant to the amendment to the claims and Applicants’ arguments and the 1.130(a) Declaration by Dr, Kieren Anne Marr.
The sequence listing newly filed on 1/6/26 is non-compliant.
Non-Compliant Sequence Listing
Errors were found by the USPTO during validation of the sequence listing. Any resolution of the errors identified in this validation report should not be construed as meaning that the sequence listing will comply with all of the requirements of 37 CFR §§ 1.821- 1.825, WIPO Standard ST.25, 37 CFR §§ 1.831-1.835 and 1.839, or WIPO Standard ST.26.
For any sequence listing related questions or concerns, the Applicant is invited to contact the USPTO Sequence Help Desk at 571-272-2510 or SequenceHelpDesk@USPTO.GOV
Issues:
ST.26 filed when ST.25 is required: This sequence listing was submitted in a US national phase application with an international filing date of 04/15/2020.
Therefore, ST.25 format is required.
* Sequence listings submitted in either non-provisional applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) or provisional applications filed under 111(b) that have a filing date BEFORE July 1, 2022 must be in ASCII text format and comply with WIPO Standard ST.25 and 37 CFR 1.821 through 1.825.
* Sequence listings submitted in either PCT applications or U.S. national phase applications submitted under 35 U.S.C. 371(c) that have an international filing date BEFORE July 1, 2022 must be in ASCII text format and comply with WIPO Standard ST.25 and/or 37 CFR 1.821 through 1.825.
APPLICANT MUST COMPLY WITH THE SEQUENCE RULES WITHIN THE SAME TIME PERIOD AS IS GIVEN FOR RESPONSE TO THIS ACTION, 37 C.F.R. 1.821-25. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in ABANDONMENT of the application under 37 C.F.R. 1.821(g). Extensions of time may be obtained by filing a petition accompanied by the extension fee under the provisions of 37 C.F.R. 1.136. In no case may an applicant extend the period for response beyond the six month statutory period.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112-Description/New Matter
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 23-28 and 46-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The instant claims (claims 23, 28, 49, 51 and 52) have been newly amended to recite antibodies by SEQ ID NOS. when no sequence identifiers were recited prior and no sequence listing was present in the application. The originally filed claims and specification did not contain any sequence information/sequence listing (actual amino acid sequences). The sequence listing submitted on 1/6/26 is new matter.
Status of claims:
No claims are presently allowed. No prior art was found on the instant claims.
Correspondence regarding this application should be directed to Group Art Unit 1645. Papers related to this application may be submitted to Group 1600 by facsimile transmission. Papers should be faxed to Group 1600 via the PTO Fax Center located in Remsen. The faxing of such papers must conform with the notice published in the Official Gazette, 1096 OG 30 (November 15,1989). The Group 1645 Fax number is 571-273-8300 which is able to receive transmissions 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jennifer E. Graser whose telephone number is (571) 272-0858. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM-4 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Daniel Kolker, can be reached on (571) 272-3181.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Group receptionist whose telephone number is (571) 272-0500.
/JENNIFER E GRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1645 1/26/26