Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/799,639

INHIBITORS OF ULK1/2 AND METHODS OF USING SAME

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Aug 12, 2022
Examiner
MCDOWELL, BRIAN E
Art Unit
1624
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
OA Round
2 (Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
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

§102
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 Status of Claims Claims 1-2,5,10-11,14,22,25,33,38,40,43-44,50,191-193,195,196,199, 200, and 205 are pending in the instant application. Claim 205 is new and drawn to the elected group but not the elected species. Thus, claims 25,192-193,195-196, 199-200, and 205 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 1-2,5,10-11,14,22,33,38,40,43-44,50 and 191 is contained herein. Priority Applicant’s arguments and amendments, see Remarks, filed 1/30/2026, with respect to the Non-Final Office Action mailed 10/30/2025, have been fully considered and the instant application receives the domestic priority date. Information Disclosure Statement The examiner has considered the information disclosure statement filed most recently of record. Previous Objections/Rejections Any rejections or objections stated of record in the office action mailed on 10/30/2025 that are not explicitly addressed herein below, are hereby withdrawn in light of applicant's arguments and/or amendments filed 1/30/2026. New Objections and Rejections Claim Objections Claim 50 is objected to because the instant claims possess non-elected subject matter. Applicant elected group I without traverse, drawn to compounds of the formula IA and simple compositions thereof. Claim 50 possesses species that do not fall within the scope of claim 1 with respect to variables R2A,7A, etc.: PNG media_image1.png 340 730 media_image1.png Greyscale These are only a few species that fall outside the scope of the elected group in this claim and all of these species should be removed as they are not representative of the elected invention. Since applicant has received an action on the merits for the originally presented invention, this invention has been constructively elected by original presentation for prosecution on the merits. Accordingly, the subject matter is objected to as being directed to a non-elected invention. See 37 CFR 1.142(b) and MPEP § 821.03. Correction is required. 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. Claims 1-2,5,10-11, 14, 33,38,40,43, 44, and 191 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated over US Patent 10,300,058 (related to WO 2015158310-mentioned in IDS). US Patent 10,300,058 teaches the following compounds and compositions thereof (see col. 206, lines 45-65 and col. 213, claim 5 for compositions thereof): PNG media_image2.png 384 312 media_image2.png Greyscale , wherein pA = 1, R5A = -OMe, nA =1, mA =2, R1A,6A,10A,11A = H, R2A = -CF3, XA = -NHheteroaryl or -NHaryl wherein heteroaryl/aryl is substituted with -NHC(O)CH2=CH2 (note that the term alkyl in claim 1 may include unsaturated derivatives) and R7A = -C(O)alkyl which anticipates the claims. Note that Applicants are to be aware of all species in this claim which may anticipate the claims. Conclusion Claims 1-2,5,10-11, 14, 33,38,40,43, 44, and 191 are rejected. Claims 22 and 50 are objected to. 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 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 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

Aug 12, 2022
Application Filed
Oct 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Jan 30, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 24, 2026
Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+30.3%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1102 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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