Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/776,580

Antimicrobial Compounds and Methods

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 12, 2022
Examiner
MCDOWELL, BRIAN E
Art Unit
1624
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
The University of Utah Research Foundation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
818 granted / 1102 resolved
+14.2% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+30.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
58 currently pending
Career history
1160
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
§102
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
§112
47.6%
+7.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1102 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 ELECTION/RESTRICTION Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, drawn to compounds of the formula I and simple compositions thereof and elected species: PNG media_image1.png 132 364 media_image1.png Greyscale in the reply filed on 11/21/2025 is acknowledged. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 82-91 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. An action on the merits of claims 68-81 is contained herein. Applicants elected species was found free of the art and the search extended to cover the full scope of formula I. Priority This application claims the benefit of priority to United States Provisional Application Serial Number 62/934,853, filed November 13, 2019. Information Disclosure Statement The examiner has considered the references cited in the information disclosure statement filed of record. Claim Objections Claim 80 is objected to because there should be commas after each recited compound along with the word “and” inserted before the last compound. Also the claim should end with a period. Claims should only begin with a capital letter and end with a period. See MPEP 608.01(m). Correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 69-79 and 81 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Regarding claim 69 and other claims, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Thus the claim and claims dependent on it which do not rectify the issue are considered indefinite. Conclusion Claims 69-79 and 81 are rejected. Claim 80 is objected to. Claim 68 is allowable. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN E MCDOWELL whose telephone number is (571)270-5755. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30-6 MF. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Murray can be reached at 571-272-9023. 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. /BRIAN E MCDOWELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 12, 2022
Application Filed
Feb 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+30.3%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1102 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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