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
Response to Amendment
1. Claims 1-4, 7, 8 and 10 have been amended, claims 6 and 11-19 canceled and claims 20-23 added as requested in the amendment filed on January 02, 2026. Following the amendment, claims 1-5, 7-10 and 20-23 are pending in the instant application.
2. Claims 1-5, 7-10 and 20-23 are under examination in the instant office action.
3. Any objection or rejection of record, which is not expressly repeated in this action has been overcome by Applicant’s response and withdrawn.
4. Applicant’s arguments filed on January 02, 2026 have been fully considered but found to be not persuasive for reasons set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5. Claims 8-10 and new claims 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 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, see reasons of record in section 5 of Paper mailed on October 03, 2025.
Applicant argues at p. 5 of the Response that the claims have been amended to indicate that the claimed peptides comprise a label. While this has been fully considered, the evidence suggests otherwise as the peptides within the composition of claims 8-10 as well as new claims 20 and 21 do not recite a label.
For reasons of record fully explained earlier and reasons above, the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
6. Claims 1-5 and 7 are allowed. Claims 8-10, 20 and 21 are rejected. Claim22 and 23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
7. 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 OLGA N CHERNYSHEV whose telephone number is (571)272-0870. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM to 5:30PM, Monday to Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Stucker can be reached at (571)272-0911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OLGA N CHERNYSHEV/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1675
March 7, 2026
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