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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/27/2026 has been entered.
102 Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claims 50, 52-54, 57-59 and 63, in so far as they read on the species defined in the previous Office Action, under 35 USC 102(a)(1), outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. The amendment narrows the scope of the claim set such that it no longer reads on the cited art.
Markush Search
Inventor having overcome the outstanding art rejection, the search was expanded as called for under Markush examination practice, a compound-by-compound search, to include a single additional species. That species is defined when, using formula I: Y is the diagramed imidazole moiety; W is NR20 where R20=RLipid; and RLipid is the diagramed structure of RLipid where p=1; R1=R2=H; R3 and R4 taken together form oxo; Z=O; m=1, X=Y= -CH2-; n=1; t=0; and q=5. (The examiner notes for clarity of the record that other combinations of the values of variables m, n and q, with the remaining variables the same as those above, will yield this same species.)
All other claimed but as yet unexamined subject matter is hereby withdrawn from consideration, for purposes of this Office Action, as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. This subject matter will be rejoined as appropriate as the Markush examination progresses.
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 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 50-55, 57-59, 62, 63, 67, 70 and 71, in so far as they read on the species defined above, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by WO 2010/062322 A2.
The reference teaches lipidoids such as inventor’s compound: page 65, line 1, second diagramed structure. The lipidoids are utilized to form a complex with immunostimulatory polynucleotides to form particles which range in size (10-500 nm; 10-1200 nm; 50-150 nm) for pharmaceutical administration to a subject (abstract; page 71, [00190]; page 76, [00207]).
Claim Objections Withdrawn
The objection to claims 51, 55, 62, 65 and 67-72 is withdrawn and reformulated below.
Allowable Subject Matter
The elected species previously being deemed free of the prior art, any claim or portion of a claim, drawn exclusively to this species constitutes allowable subject matter. Thus, claims 65, 68, 69 and 72 are objected to because they are drawn to subject matter which encompasses allowable subject matter (the elected species) as well as subject matter which has not yet been completely searched.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN J DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-0638. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 PM EDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Soroush, can be reached at 571-272-9925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN J DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614 8/23/2026
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