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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 17-18 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 February 24, 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed February 6, 2026 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because the citations are improper. 37 CFR 1.98 (b) (5) requires, “Each publication listed in an information disclosure statement must be identified by publisher, author (if any), title, relevant pages of the publication, date, and place of publication.” In this case, none of the citations of the non-patent literature documents have titles. Note the instruction of non-patent literature documents in the form PTO-1449, APA (American Psychological Association) style, the Chicago Manual of Styles, etc.
It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1-4, 7-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Moreira (“Development of aptamer nanoparticles for treatment of retinal diseases, Master’s thesis, Universiade de Beira Interior, November 2022) as evidenced by Loftsson et al. (US 20220354869 A1, published on November 10, 2022) (“Loftsson” hereunder).
Moreira discloses liposomes conjugated with aptamer AT11-Lo and comprising antiangiogenic drug for treating retinal vascular diseases. The reference teaches that the liposomes have a size of about 160 nm and are the most promising nanoparticles to use in retinal vascular diseases. See p. 37 and 67; the present claims 1 and 2.
Regarding claim 3, Moreira teaches that liposomes were made using the thin film hydration method using PG, which is viewed the phosphatidyl-glycerols of the present claim. See p. 37, 3.2.2.2. Synthesis of Liposomes functionalized with AT11-lo and ligands. Cholesterol and DSPE-PEG (distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine) are also used.
Regarding claims 4 and 7, Moreira teaches the aptamer with an amino modification in a DNA: liposome mass ratio of 1:10 to functionalize the liposomes with the aptamer.
Regarding claim 8, Moreira teaches that the aptamer conjugated liposomes are used to target retinal diseases rather than cancerous diseases.
Regarding claims 9-11, dexamethasone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, is commonly used in treating inflammation and pain following cataract surgery. See Loftsson, [0207, 0264].
Regarding claims 12 and 13, the reference teaches that 0.1 mg of dexamethasone for each g of lipids is used, which is equivalent to 0.01 % based on the weight of the lipid used in the liposome.
Regarding claims 14 and 16 Moreira teaches that the solutions used in the lab were prepared with ultrapure-grade water, which meets a pharmaceutically or physiological acceptable carrier and/or excipient. See p. 32, 3.1 Materials and Reagents.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moreira as applied to claims 1-4, 7-14 and 16, and further in view of the same reference.
Although Moreira fails to specifically disclose the form of the compositions listed in the present claim 15, the reference specifically teaches that developing intravitreal nanosystems for the targeting of nucleolin in retinal diseases. See p. 29, 2. Aims of Work. As intravitreal injections are used in managing neovascular diseases, see p. 6-7, bridging paragraph, and the reference suggests for a further clinical/pharmaceutical development of the aptamer functionalized liposome, it would have been obvious of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention and make a clinical intravitreal pharmaceutical product.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 20030109509 A1 discloses methods of treating dry eye by administering combinations of MUC-1 secretagogues, such as HETE derivatives, and anti-inflammatory steroids.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GINA JUSTICE whose telephone number is (571)272-8605. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BETHANY BARHAM can be reached at 571-272-6175. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GINA C JUSTICE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1617
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