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 1-3, 5, and 11-20, are pending and being examined.
Response to Amendment
The previous objection of Claim(s) 1 for informalities is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments.
The previous rejection of Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 11, 12, 17, under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by EP 2,770,004 A1 to Shinozawa et al. (hereinafter Shinozawa) is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments and arguments.
The previous rejection of Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 11-13, 15-18, and 20, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by CN 105273153 A to Sun et al. (hereinafter Sun) is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments and arguments.
The previous rejection of Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 11-13, 15-18, under is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by US 2014/0194533 A1 to Hsu et al. (hereinafter Hsu) is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments and arguments.
The previous rejection of Claim 14 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun and/or Hsu, as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of US 6,087,465 A to Seppala et al. (hereinafter Seppala) is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments and arguments.
The previous rejection of Claim 15 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun and/or Hsu, as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of US 2009/0099600 A1 to Moore et al. (hereinafter Moore) is/are withdrawn in light of the Applicant’s amendments and arguments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 19, is/are rejected under is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as anticipated by US 2017/0145145 A1 to Narine et al. (hereinafter Narine), and as evidenced by Shetranjiwalla et al., “Imparting elastomeric properties to entirely lipid-derived thermoplastic poly(ester urethane)s: Molecular weight control,” Polymer, vol. 92, pp. 140-152 (2016). (hereinafter Shetranjiwalla).
Regarding claim 19, Narine teaches a two stage polymerization reaction scheme to form a polyester-based urethane in Fig. 1,
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(See Fig. 1), wherein the PED is a polyester diol obtained from polymerizing a mixture of azelaic acid and 1,9-nonanediol as described in Shetranjiwalla (para 82 and See Shetranjiwalla, page 141-142), which meets the claimed random copolyester of component A. The above HPMDI is 1,7-heptamethylene diisocyanate (See abstract), which meets component B, and the above ND is 1,9-nonanediol (See abstract), which meets component C, and the above resultant polyester-based urethane meets the claimed (A-B-C-B)n.
Claim(s) 19, is/are rejected under is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Sikorska et al., “Synthesis and physicochemical properties of new (bio)degradable poly(ester-urethane)s containing polylactide and poly[(1,4-butyleneterephthalate)-co-(1,4-butylene adipate)] segments,” Polymer, vol. 52, pp. 4676-4685 (2011). (hereinafter Sikorska).
Regarding claim 19, Sikorska teaches a poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate)-co-(1,4-butylene adipate) (BTA) reacted with butanediol to form a BTA-diol (page 4677-4678 and Scheme 1). The BTA-diol meets the claimed component A partially based on random copolyester and the poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate) is random copolyester of butanediol and terephthalic acid and poly(1,4-butylene adipate) is a random copolyester of butanediol and adipic acid. Sikorska further teaches the BTA-diol is used to form a poly(ester-urethane) in scheme 2,
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, with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender. (page 4679-4680). The IPDI meets the component B and 1,4-butanediol meets component C.
Claim(s) 20, is/are rejected under is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Lee et al., “Degradable polyurethanes containing poly(butylene succinate) and poly(ethylene glycol),” Polymer Degradation and Stability, vol. 72, pp. 81-87, (2001). (hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 20, Lee teaches a polyester obtained from reacting a mixture of 1,4-butanediol and succinic acid (PBS), (page 82), which meets the claimed random copolyester. Lee further teaches the prepolymer polyurethane reaction scheme
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, (page 82), where the PBS is reacted with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hydrogenated methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (i.e. methylene bis(4-cyclohexylisocyanate)). The above PBS meets the claimed A, the above methylene bis(4-cyclohexylisocyanate) meets the claimed B, and PEG meets the claimed C.
Claim(s) 20, is/are rejected under is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by US 2014/0194533 A1 to Hsu et al. (hereinafter Hsu).
Regarding claim 20, Hsu teaches an elastomer with a hard segment and soft segment, wherein the hard segment is formed by reacting a diisocyanate and a chain extender and the soft segment is a biodegradable oligomer diol (See abstract). Specifically, Hsu teaches mixing polycaprolactone diol (PCL) with polyethylene butylene adipate diol (PEBA), poly-L-lactic acid diol (PLLA) and/or poly-DL-lactic acid diol (PDLLA) and reacting in a prepolymerization reaction to form a macrodiols (para 49-51). The above polyethylene butylene adipate diol (PEBA) is a random copolyester of ethylene glycol, butylene glycol, and adipic acid which meets the claimed partially based on a random copolyester of A. The macrodiols are then further reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and further reacted with the chain extender of 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (DMPA) (para 49-51), as shown by Scheme 1,
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, para (51-52). The above prepolymer intermediate after the reaction with DMPA, (para 51), meets the claimed (A-B-C-B)n wherein A is partially the random polyester of PEGA, B is the IPDI (4 carbons), and C is 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (DMPA) (3 carbons), with a B-C-B length of 11. The above is biocompatible/biodegradable and used as scaffold for vascular grafts. (para 15-16).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5, 11-18, are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art of record does not teach the listed combination of A, B, and/or C, for the formula (A-B-C-B)n of claim 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/28/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive in part.
On page 9, the Applicant argues that Hu does not teach the “random copolyester” of lactide and caprolactone of claim 1. The argument is found persuasive in part for claim 1. However, the arguments are found unpersuasive for claim 20 because claim 20 broadly only requires component A to be a “partially based on a random copolyester,” which is met by the PEBA as cited above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HA S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, Flex schedule 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/HA S NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
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