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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/24/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-4, 7-8, 12-15, 25, 69 and 74-76 are pending. Claims 78-79 have been canceled. Claims 1, 4, 12-15 and 69 have been amended.
Claims 4, 7-8 and 69 are allowable. Claims 1-3, 12-15, 25 and 74-76, previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, require all the limitations of an allowable claim. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in MPEP § 821.04(a), the restriction requirement between inventions I-X, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 10/16/2025, is hereby withdrawn and claims 1-3, 12-15, 25 and 74-76 are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant(s) are advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application. Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Claim Objections
Claim 25 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 25 should be amended to recite “….is selected from a sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 30, SEQ ID NO: 31, SEQ ID NO: 32, or SEQ ID NO: 33”. Appropriate 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.
This is a new rejection.
Claim 8 is 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the heterologous antigenic polypeptide" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The rejection of claims 4, 7-8 and 69 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berti et al. in view of Zhu et al. is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims.
Double Patenting
The rejection of claims 4, 7-8 and 69 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-18 of U.S. Patent No. 10245310 in view of Zhu et al. is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 7, 12-15, 69 and 74-76 are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SERGIO COFFA whose telephone number is (571)270-3022. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 6AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MELISSA FISHER can be reached at 571-270-7430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SERGIO COFFA Ph.D./
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1658
/SERGIO COFFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1658
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