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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 28-30 and 43-45, in the reply filed on 02/11/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 28-46 are currently pending.
Claims 31-42 and 46 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 02/11/2026.
Claims 28-30 and 43-45 are under examination on the merits.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Claims 28-30 and 43-45 have an effective filing date of 08/10/2020, corresponding to PRO 63/063,475.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/09/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Notes on the Prior Art
The claims are drawn to an antibody or antibody fragment capable of specifically binding to a human major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) polypeptide and to a human (major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain B (MICB) polypeptide, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment comprises the three complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the heavy chain variable region (VH) sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the three CDRs of the light chain variable region (VL) sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. At the effective filing date of the invention, antibodies that bind to MICA and MICB were known in the art. For example Cheney (WO 2014/140904, international publication date: 09/18/2014) teach antibodies that bind to MICA and/or MICB, see Abstract. Kuhne et al. (WO 2019/183551, international publication date: 09/26/2019) also teach antibodies that bind to MICA and/or MICB, see [0005]. Following a sequence search, it has been determined that the prior art does not teach or suggest an antibody that binds to MICA and MICB, wherein the antibody comprises the CDRs of the VH of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the CDRs of the VL of SEQ ID NO: 8. The claims are therefore free of the prior art.
Claim Rejections
35 U.S.C. 112(b)
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.
Regarding claims 30 and 43, the phrase “optionally” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Conclusion
Claims 28, 29, 44, and 45 are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NELSON B MOSELEY II whose telephone number is (571)272-6221. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 9:00-6:00 EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samira Jean-Louis, can be reached at 571-270-3503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NELSON B MOSELEY II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1642