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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 7/28/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-13 are pending. Claims 1 and 5 have been amended. In the response to the restriction requirement, Applicants elected Group I, SEQ ID NO: 1, and wherein the polypeptide further comprises the cell-penetrating peptide YGRKKRRQRRRGSG.
Applicants elected species (i.e. SEQ ID NO: 1 linked to YGRKKRRQRRRGSG) was deemed to be free of the prior art. The search was extended to another species (i.e. a polypeptide comprising REYNHRHSVGATLEALFQ). As a result, claims 1-3 and 5 have been examined and claims 4 and 6-13 are withdrawn from consideration. While applicant’s elected species may read on one or more withdrawn claims, they have not been fully examined for patentability, and thus a determination of allowability cannot be made with respect to these claims at this time.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-3 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 2-3 should be amended to replace “SEQ ID NO.” with “SEQ ID NO:”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The rejection of claims 1 and 5 under 35 USC 112(a) is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
This is a new rejection.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 2 is drawn to the polypeptide of claim 1, having a sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 24, or a D-configuration polypeptide thereof. It is noted that claim 1 is drawn to a polypeptide having only L-amino acids. This is clear by looking at the language of claim 5, where a D configuration is stated in the preamble. Therefore, claim 2 fails to include all the limitations of claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The rejection of claims 1 and 5 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims.
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.
This is a new rejection.
Claims 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ellis et al. (Immunology, 116, 337-346, 2005).
It is noted that the language “having a sequence” of claim 1 is interpreted as “comprises”.
With respect to claim 1, Ellis et al. teach the polypeptide MFREYNHRHSVGATLEALFQ, which comprises instant SEQ ID NO: 21.
With respect to the limitation “used as a broad-spectrum anti-enterovirus inhibitor”, the MPEP 2111.02 states that “[I]f the body of a claim fully and intrinsically sets forth all of the limitations of the claimed invention, and the preamble merely states, for example, the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999)””.
In the instant case, the preamble is an intended use of the product and is not given any patentable weight.
With respect to claims 2-3, it is noted that the polypeptide of Ellis et al. comprises instantly claimed SEQ ID NO: 24.
With respect to claim 5, the polypeptide of Ellis et al. corresponds to instant SEQ ID NO: 21 with 2 amino acids added at the N-terminus.
Double Patenting
The rejection of claims 1 and 5 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 11999806 is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims.
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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/SERGIO COFFA Ph.D./
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1658
/SERGIO COFFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1658
