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 10 and 12-18 are pending in the instant application. Claims 17 and 18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. Claims 10, 13, 14, and 16 are rejected. Claims 12 and 15 are objected.
Information Disclosure Statements
The information disclosure statements filed on October 2, 2025 and April 8, 2026 have been considered and signed copies of form 1449 are enclosed herewith.
Response to Amendment and Arguments/Remarks
The amendment and arguments/remarks filed on October 29, 2025 have been fully considered and entered into the application. With regards to the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejection, the grounds for rejection are moot in view of Applicant’s amendment and the rejection has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 10, 13, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2014/024896 A1.
WO 2014/024896 A1 discloses an agomelatine-containing patch composition comprising a salicylic acid-based ionic liquid together with agomelatine (see claim 1 of English equivalent). Therefore, a pharmaceutical composition of the instant claims wherein the anion in the temperature-responsive ionic liquid is an aromatic carboxylate ion and the composition is an external agent is anticipated by the reference.
With regards to claims 13 and 14, the claiming of a new use, new function or unknown property, which is inherently present in the prior art does not necessarily make the claim patentable. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1254, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977).
Claim Objections
Claims 12 and 15 are objected to for depending on a previous rejected claim.
Conclusion
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/KRISTIN A VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1622
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