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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/17/2026 has been entered.
Applicants' arguments, filed 3/17/2026, have been fully considered. Rejections and/or objections not reiterated from previous office actions are hereby withdrawn. The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paul et al (J of Intrnl Oral Health, 2015, 7(6):18-22) in view of Artzi et al (Clinical Oral Implants Research, Vol 30, Iss S19, 488-489, 2019).
Paul et al teaches administration of collagen devices along with and without scaling and root planning at regular intervals for treatment of chronic periodontitis (abstract). The collagen material included 5% metronidazole, an antibiotic, where the device was found to be a good resorbable support for the immobilization of various drug substances (pg 21, Conclusion, first ¶).
Paul et al does not teach the preformed crosslinked collagen and hydroxyapatite instantly claimed.
Artzi et al teaches the use of a resorbable sponge-like matrix of hydroxyapatite and collagen cross-linked by sugar to augment hard tissue in periodontal and implant surgeries.
Artzi et al does not teach administration without flap surgery.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method of Paul et al to use a collagen formulation to deliver the antibiotic known to not only be stable, but also provide improved bone growth, such as the composition taught by Artzi et al.
It would have been obvious to administer the antibiotic to an infected pocket, and also the non-infected pockets, given the risk of spreading periodontal disease within the oral cavity.
Examiner notes the material of Artzi et al appears to be the bone filler of Applicants company and appears to be the claimed material.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
Examiner notes that while there are many references which discuss administration of collagen compositions to treat periodontitis, they all include flap surgery. Examiner was only able to find teachings directed to administration of collagen with antibiotics or other actives when not using flap surgery to place the collagen device.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN J PACKARD whose telephone number is (571)270-3440. The examiner can normally be reached Mon 2-6pm and Tues-Fri (9am-6pm + mid-day flex).
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/BENJAMIN J PACKARD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1612