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 .
Claims 1-11, 16-19 and 24-34 are pending in the application.
This action is in response to applicants' amendment dated May 15, 2026. Claims 1, 7, 9, 16, 17, 24 and 26-29 have been amended and claims 32-34 are newly added.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's arguments filed May 15, 2026 have been fully considered with the following effect:
The applicants’ amendments are sufficient to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph rejection, labeled paragraph 1) in the last office action, which is hereby withdrawn.
The applicant's amendments and arguments are sufficient to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph rejections, labeled paragraph 2a), b), c), d), e), f), g), h), i) and j) in the last office action, which are hereby withdrawn.
With regards to the provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4, 7-11, 13, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 27 of copending Application No. 17/912,284 of the last office action, the applicants request that the Examiner hold the rejection over Application in abeyance until there is allowable subject matter.
Claims 1-11, 16-19 and 24-34 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4, 7-11, 13, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 27 of copending Application No. 17/912,284, for reasons of record and stated above.
In view of the amendment dated May 15, 2026, the following new grounds of rejection apply:
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.
Claims 17-19, 27, 29 and 31-34 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. The following reasons apply:
Claim 17 and claims dependent thereon are vague and indefinite in that it is not known what is meant by “fibroitic”.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "systemic sclerosis" in the 2nd line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "systemic sclerosis" in the 2nd line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 19 is vague and indefinite in that it does not end with a period indicating the end of the claim.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA L COLEMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0665. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-6 (flex).
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 supervisor, Jeffrey H. Murray can be reached at 571-272-9023. 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.
/BRENDA L COLEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624
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