Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/258,026

NEW COMPOUNDS AND METHODS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 16, 2023
Examiner
ROBINSON, MIKHAIL O'DONNEL
Art Unit
1627
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
BENEVOLENTAI BIO LIMITED
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 6m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allow Rate
59 granted / 103 resolved
-2.7% vs TC avg
Strong +48% interview lift
Without
With
+47.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
50 currently pending
Career history
153
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
§103
41.6%
+1.6% vs TC avg
§102
20.9%
-19.1% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 103 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 1-16, 20-22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Steurer et al. (US 20080182837 A1). Regarding claims 1-16, 20-22 and 24, Steurer teaches a method for the treatment of and/or prevention of cancer, infections, inflammations and autoimmune diseases of Alzheimer's disease and leukemias such as chronic lymphatic leukemia (relevant to claims 20-22 and 24) (para. 0035,0197-0198) comprising compounds of formula (I) PNG media_image1.png 88 142 media_image1.png Greyscale or the pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof in combination with conventional excipients and/or carriers (relevant to claim 16) (para. 0034). Of the above compound Steurer teaches Q as PNG media_image2.png 84 95 media_image2.png Greyscale wherein W, X and Y are selected from N or CH and R1 is a 5-12 membered heteroaryl or 3-14 membered heterocycloalkyl substituted by CF3 (relevant to claims 2 and 14) (para. 0006). R1 is further denoted as PNG media_image3.png 80 88 media_image3.png Greyscale , PNG media_image4.png 70 80 media_image4.png Greyscale and PNG media_image5.png 72 67 media_image5.png Greyscale (relevant to claims 3-6) (para. 0132, Examples 1-68). L is represented by PNG media_image6.png 60 70 media_image6.png Greyscale and R2 is selected from pyridyl, pyrimidyl, thiazolyl, imidazolyl, triazolyl, pyrazolyl, pyrrolyl (relevant to claims 7-8) (para. 0031), PNG media_image7.png 99 58 media_image7.png Greyscale (relevant to claims 9-13) (para. 0116). Steurer additionally teaches compound PNG media_image8.png 147 216 media_image8.png Greyscale (para. 0116). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have constructed 4-Methyl-3-[4-(3-pyridyl)pyrazol- 1 -yl]-N- [4-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridyl]benzamide PNG media_image9.png 99 155 media_image9.png Greyscale (relevant to claim 1 and 15). One would have been motivated to do so from the teachings of Steurer of compound PNG media_image8.png 147 216 media_image8.png Greyscale in which PNG media_image10.png 52 38 media_image10.png Greyscale is substituted with PNG media_image11.png 36 34 media_image11.png Greyscale from the embodiments of Q from the core structure of PNG media_image2.png 84 95 media_image2.png Greyscale and PNG media_image12.png 56 68 media_image12.png Greyscale substituted with PNG media_image13.png 40 40 media_image13.png Greyscale from the embodiments of R1. There is a reasonable expectation of developing compound PNG media_image9.png 99 155 media_image9.png Greyscale from the teaching of Steurer. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 23 is 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0777. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm. 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, Kortney Klinkel can be reached at 571-270-5239. 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. MIKHAIL O'DONNEL. ROBINSON Examiner Art Unit 1627 /MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1627 /SARAH PIHONAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 16, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12600729
NEW-TYPE BENZAZEPINE FUSED RING DERIVATIVE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12595247
SUBSTITUTED PYRAZOLO PIPERIDINE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12590086
3-((1H-PYRAZOL-4-YL)METHYL)-6'-(PHENYL)-2H-(1,2'-BIPYRIDIN)-2-ONE DERIVATIVES AND RELATED COMPOUNDS AS GPR139 ANTAGONISTS FOR USE IN A METHOD OF TREATMENT OF E.G. DEPRESSION
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Patent 12583871
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12583825
BENZO[H]QUINAZOLIN-4-AMINE AND THIENO[3,2-H]QUINAZOLIN-4-AMINE DERIVATIVES FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
57%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+47.7%)
3y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 103 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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