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 .
Priority
This Application filed on 05/31/2023 is a 371 of PCT/CA2021/051722 filed on 12/02/2021, which has a provisional 63/121714 filed on 12/04/2020.
DETAILED ACTION
The Office Action is in response to the Applicant's reply filed February 13, 2026 to the restriction requirement made on December 16, 2025.
Applicant's election of Group I (claims 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17-19) with traverse is herein acknowledged. The Office Action also includes an election of species requirement, requiring an election of medium chain triglycerides and cellulose acetate in the reply filed on 2/13/26 is acknowledged. Applicant argues KR’109 does not necessarily produce or result in a homogenous mixture. In response, the Examiner points out while the reference does not explicitly recite the word “homogenous”, the teaching that the identical actives are combined in a similar process as in the specification, it’s expected that the formulation is homogenous.
Claims 24-26, 29-30, 33, 35, and 37 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 1.142(b), as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. The claims corresponding to the elected subject matter are claims 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17-19 and are herein acted on the merits.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17-19 are herein acted on the merits.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) filed on 1/16/24 is in compliance with the provisions of S7 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS is being considered by the Examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwan Lee et al. (KR 20190096109 - IDS) in view of Miller et al. (CA 2929998 A1).
Hwan Lee et al. teaches health food compositions having improved absorption profiles, prepared by steps that include coprecipitating a powder comprising methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and mannitol (a sugar alcohol). The MSM and the mannitol are combined and heated so as to form a 1: 1 adduct. Since the prior art teaches the same mixture of MSM and a sugar alcohol can be dissolved in the same solvent, and drying techniques and then dissolved in a liquid component, it is expected that the combination would have an organized structure and can behave as a eutectic mixture. Hwan Lee et al. teaches the combination with xylitol, as well as nutraceutical components, such as coffee and black currant seed oil. (Both coffee and black currant seed oil contain quercetin and saponins). Other suitable nutraceuticals that may be included are fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. Exemplified is a gummy formulation.
Hwan Lee et al. fails to teach an enteric coating or medium chain triglyceride.
Miller et al. teaches the use of enteric coatings and medium chain triglycerides in dietary supplement formations comprising fatty acids. The reference teaches the medium chain triglycerides as solubilizers and enteric coatings for delayed release.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to add an enteric coating or medium chain triglyceride to the health food formulation of Hwan Lee et al. The motivation to add an enteric coating or medium chain triglyceride is because Miller et al. teaches medium chain triglycerides act as solubilizers and enteric coatings are used for delayed release. Therefore, a skilled artisan would have had reasonable expectation of successfully achieving similar efficacy and results.
With respect to claim 19, the overlapping method of making is expected to produce a formulation with the properties (i)-(iv) recited.
Conclusion
No claims allowed.
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/LAYLA SOROUSH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1622
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