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
The amendment filed December 5, 2025, is acknowledged and has been entered. Claims 15, 16 and 26 have been amended.
Claims 15-28 are pending. Claims 20-23 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species of invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claims 15-19 and 24-28 are under consideration. Applicant has canceled the selected species of SEQ ID NO:108 and SEQ ID NO:114, so the species of SEQ ID NO: 120 and SEQ ID NO:119 have been rejoined.
Grounds of Rejection Withdrawn
Applicant’s amendments have obviated or rendered moot the grounds of rejection set forth in the previous Office action mailed.
New Grounds of Rejection
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 15-19 and 24-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bosques et al (WO 2017/205434 A1, IDS).
With respect to the claims, Bosques et al disclose methods of treating autoimmune kidney diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (includes patients with lupus nephritis), glomerulonephritis, and Goodpasture's Syndrome which is a kidney disease as set forth in claim 27 , by administering to patients an IgG Fc multimer comprising a first polypeptide and a second polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 49, which comprises instant SEQ ID NO: 120, and a third polypeptide and a fourth polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 48, which comprises instant SEQ ID NO: 119 to create a construct with three Fc monomers and which meets the limitations of the instant claims (see entire document, e.g., SEQ ID NO: 49 and 48, examples, figures, claims and pages 1, 11 and 27-28). Notably, as the Fc constructs of Bosques et al comprise the instant SEQ ID NO: 120 and 119 and do not require other mutations or domains, these constructs necessarily meet the limitations of claims 16-19. Then with respect to claim 28, the methods treat hypersensitivity syndromes mediated through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and the construct of the prior art has a structure that is materially indistinguishable from the instantly claimed structure, and Applicant is reminded that products of identical composition cannot have mutually exclusive functions. Therefore, while Bosques et al do not expressly disclose the functions of claim 28, the products of the prior art used in the claimed methods necessarily meet these limitations, absent a showing otherwise.
Therefore, Bosques et al is deemed to anticipate the instant claims absent a showing otherwise.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brad Duffy whose telephone number is 571-272-9935. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julie Wu, can be reached on 571-272-5205. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Respectfully,
Brad Duffy
571-272-9935
/Brad Duffy/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1643
February 9, 2026