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
Status of Application, Amendments, and/or Claims
Applicant's amendment filed on 09/16/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 are pending and currently under consideration
Withdrawn Objections and/or Rejections
The provisional rejection of claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of copending Application No. 18/250,165, 17/631378, and 17/607,879 are withdrawn in view of abandonment of these applications.
The provisional rejection of claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of copending Application No. 18/253,756 is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s argument.
The rejection of claim 1 under 35 USC § 112 (b) is withdrawn in view of amended claim.
Claim Rejections[Symbol font/0xBE] Nonstatutory Obviousness-Type Double Patenting
(i). Basis for nonstatutory double patenting:
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. See In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970);and, In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission.
For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/ guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
(ii). Claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 11-20 of US Patent No. 10,450,374 B2. Applicant requests that the rejection be held in abeyance until the instant claims are otherwise allowable.
(iii). Claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of copending Application No. 18/556,387, 18/556,394, 18/253, 754, and 17/851,930. Applicant requests that the rejections be held in abeyance until the instant claims are otherwise allowable.
Applicant argues that Application No. 18/556,394 is titled “OPTICAL FIBER PRODUCTION APPARATUS AND OPTICAL FIBER PRODUCTION METHOD".
This is not persuasive because the title of Application No. 18/556,394 is “COMBINATION OF ANTI-GALECTIN-9 ANTIBODIES AND CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS FOR USE IN CANCER THERAPY”.
Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 103(a)
(i). The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
(ii). Claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over WO 2020/223702 A1 (International publication date: 05 November 2020; International filing date: 01 May 2020) or US 2022/0285896 A1 (Pub. Date: Jun 16, 2022; PCT filed: May 1, 2020). The following rejection is based upon WO 2020/223702 A1. The rejection is maintained on the basis set forth in the office action mailed on 03/18/2026.
(iii). Claims 1-6, 8-10, 11-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 24, 26, and 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over US 10,450,374 B2. The rejection is maintained on the basis set forth in the office action mailed on 03/18/2026.
(iv). Response to Applicant’s argument
Applicant argues that the cited art does not teach or suggest the subject population to be treated: wherein the subject has one or all the following features: (i) has no resectable cancer; (ii) has no infection by SARS-CoV-2; (iii) has no active brain or leptomeningeal metastasis; and (iv) has unresectable metastatic cancer, which is adenocarcinoma.
Applicant’s argument has been fully considered but is not deemed to be persuasive for the following reasons. Taking claim 1 as an example, claim 1 recites “wherein the subject has one or all of the following features: (i) has no resectable cancer; …”. The reference teaches a method of treating a solid tumor in a subject, which is broad enough to encompass the instantly claimed method. Since the reference does not explicitly exclude “non-resectable cancer”, the method taught by the cited prior art is applicable to both resectable and non‑resectable cases. Therefore, the reference’s method reads on the claimed method, and the applicant’s argument that the art does not teach treatment of non‑resectable tumors is unsupported by the record.
Claim Objection
Claim 1 is objected to because of a typographic error in line 12: the word “or” is missing in “wherein the subject has one all of the following features”.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Advisory Information
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ruixiang Li whose telephone number is (571) 272-0875. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Vanessa Ford, can be reached on (571) 272-0857. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/RUIXIANG LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1674 October 1, 2026
