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
Claims 1, 6, 7, 10, 13, 15-19, 21-23, 25-27, 29, 31 and 33-41 are pending in the instant application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election with traverse of Group II,
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and the species disclosed on page 53 of the instant specification and claimed in instant independent claim 35 (the last compound claimed on page 11),
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in the reply filed on October 20, 2025 was acknowledged in the previous Office Action. The requirement was deemed proper and therefore made FINAL in the previous Office Action.
Applicant’s claimed compound genus in elected
Group II has a number of variables and their permutations and combinations result in a vast number of compounds that are generically claimed. In an attempt to examine the full scope of compounds of elected Group II, over 213,200 Chemical Abstract Registry numbers were recovered in one database search alone.
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Therefore, the compounds of elected Group II have been examined according to MPEP §803.02.
The compound claims within elected Group II have been examined to the extent that they are readable on the elected species identified above. Since no prior art was found on the elected species, the examination was expanded within the compound claims of elected Group II until prior art was found, in which case, the examination stopped and prior art has been applied against the claims. Note, MPEP §803.02.
The subject matter of the expanded search and examination thus far, inclusive of the elected species, is as follows:
a compound of instant Formula II,
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where
L represents S;
R1 and R2, are taken together with the atoms to
which they are attached, form a heterocyclyl of
Formula IIA,
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R5 represents -(CH2)pCONR6R7; and
all other variables are as defined in independent claim 23.
Compound (and composition) claims embraced by the above identified expanded search and examination are claims 23, 25-27, 29, 31, 33, 35 and 36.
As a result of the current amendments to the claims per the Amendment filed February 3, 2026, the above identified search and examination has not been further expanded beyond that which is indicated above.
Subject matter not embraced by the above identified expanded search and examination and Claims 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 10, 13, 15-22, 34 and 37 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on October 20, 2025. Claims 2, 5, 9 and 20 have been cancelled per the Amendment filed
February 3, 2026.
Rejections and objections made in the previous Office Action that do not appear below have been overcome by Applicant’s amendments to the specification and the claims. Therefore, arguments pertaining to these rejections and objections will not be addressed.
As a result of the current amendments to the claims per the Amendment filed February 3, 2026, the following rejections now apply.
Power of Attorney
Of note, there is not an attorney of record on file due to a lack of an official power of attorney of record. While a customer number has been provided on the Application Data Sheet (ADS) submitted
December 15, 2022, this is not the equivalent of a power of attorney or an authorization to act in a representative capacity. In order to expedite prosecution in the instant application, it is suggested that a power of attorney be filed as per MPEP §402 or MPEP §1807, or an Authorization to Act in a Representative Capacity be filed as per MPEP §403 in order for the Office to freely and openly discuss the merits of the case with the applicant's representative(s). Please refer to the MPEP or http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/poafaqs.jsp#a if you have questions regarding the proper filing of a power of attorney. "
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 23, 25-27, 29, 31, 33, 36 and 38-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by:
the compound of PubChem CID 1711696 {National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 1711696, (2R)-2-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-ylsulfanyl)-N-(2-methylphenyl)propanamide. https://pubchem.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/compound/1711696. Accessed
February 23, 2026, create date July 12, 2005},
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{a compound of instant Formula II,
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wherein
L = S;
R1 and R2, taken together with the atoms to which they are attached,
form a heterocyclyl of Formula IIA,
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where R8 = hydrogen, and
R8’ = hydrogen;
R3 = hydrogen;
R4 = alkyl (i.e., methyl);
R4’ = hydrogen;
R5 = -(CH2)pCONR6R7,
where p = zero,
R6 = aryl (i.e., phenyl, which aryl can be substituted per the
instant specification on pages 32, 36 and 37), and
R7 = hydrogen; and
R13 is absent};
the compound of PubChem CID 3588021 {National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 3588021, 2-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-ylsulfanyl)-N-(4-fluorophenyl)propanamide. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/3588021. Accessed February 23, 2026, create date September 9, 2005},
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{a compound of instant Formula II,
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wherein
L = S;
R1 and R2, taken together with the atoms to which they are attached,
form a heterocyclyl of Formula IIA,
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where R8 = hydrogen, and
R8’ = hydrogen;
R3 = hydrogen;
R4 = alkyl (i.e., methyl);
R4’ = hydrogen;
R5 = -(CH2)pCONR6R7,
where p = zero,
R6 = aryl (i.e., phenyl, which aryl can be substituted per the
instant specification on pages 32, 36 and 37), and
R7 = hydrogen; and
R13 is absent};
and
the compound of Chemical Abstracts Registry Number 792146-05-5 {indexed in the Registry file on STN CAS ONLINE December 5, 2004},
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{a compound of instant Formula II,
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wherein
L = S;
R1 and R2, taken together with the atoms to which they are attached,
form a heterocyclyl of Formula IIA,
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where R8 = hydrogen, and
R8’ = hydrogen;
R3 = hydrogen;
R4 = alkyl (i.e., methyl);
R4’ = hydrogen;
R5 = -(CH2)pCONR6R7,
where p = zero, and
R6 and R7 taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they
are attached, form a heterocyclyl (i.e., piperazinyl, which
heterocyclyl can be substituted per the instant specification
on page 35) ; and
R13 is absent}.
Each of the above cited prior art disclose at least one compound that is embraced by the instant currently amended claimed invention. Additionally, the Registry record for the compound of Chemical Abstracts Registry Number 792146-05-5 provides the predicted solubility of the compound in water. The instant specification discloses that the pharmaceutical composition can be formulated as an aqueous solution (see page 57). Therefore, each of the above cited prior art anticipates the instant currently amended claimed invention.
Note to Applicant: Not every piece of prior art found in the database search or class/subclass search which would anticipate and/or render obvious the instant claimed invention under examination has been applied against the instant currently pending claims under examination. See MPEP §904.03.
Allowable Subject Matter
The elected species, disclosed on page 53 of the instant specification and claimed in instant independent claim 35 (the last compound claimed on page 11),
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is allowable over the prior art of record.
Independent Claim 35 is allowed over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
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.
This application contains subject matter not embraced by the above identified expanded search and examination and Claims 1, 6, 7, 10, 13, 15-19, 21, 22, 34 and 37 drawn to an invention nonelected with traverse in the reply filed on October 20, 2025. A complete reply to the final rejection must include cancellation of nonelected claims or other appropriate action (37 CFR 1.144) See MPEP §821.01.
Telephone Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to:
Laura L. Stockton
(571) 272-0710.
The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 6 pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s acting supervisor,
James Alstrum-Acevedo can be reached on 571/272-5548. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LAURA L STOCKTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626 Work Group 1620
Technology Center 1600
February 24, 2026
Book XXVII, page 89