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
This is a response to Applicant’s communication filed on July 31, 2023. Application No. 18/263,698, is a 371 of PCT/US2022/014783, filed February 1, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 63/144,453, filed February 1, 2021. Claims 1-15 are pending.
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.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, Z., US2017/0022189 A1 in view of Bhatti et al., Therapeutic Strategies in the Development of Anti-viral Drugs and Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection, 57(11) Molecular Neurobiology 4856-4877 (2020). Zhang discloses the compound of Formula (I) (see Zhang, US ‘189 publc’n, para. [0256], or Id., claim 40, for the compound of Formula (I)) as a compound that inhibit protein
kinases Tyro3, Axl and Mer (TAM family kinases) and the treatment and/or prevention of various diseases that are responsive to TAM family kinase inhibition and/or that are mediated, at least in part, by abnormal TAM family kinase activity. (See Id., Abstract.) The difference between the prior art and present invention is the use of a compound of Formula (I) to treat a disease or infection caused by an infection, specifically a viral infection; more specifically, an infection caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Nonetheless, Bhatti proposes the use of inhibitors of the TAM family kinase (AXL kinase protein) like the compound of Formula (I) for use in treating an infection caused by a viral infection; against a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bhatti et al., p. 4874, ACCORD program. Bhatti proposes that inhibitors of the AXL protein kinase could treat such a viral infection by block the entry of the infection into the host cell thru the protein kinase. Id. Accordingly, all the elements of the present invention were known at the time of the invention.
It would have been obvious to use the compound of Formula (I), a known AXL protein kinase inhibitor, to treat a viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 as proposed by Bhatti with a reasonable expectation of success. In this case, the present invention combines prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. Known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY R ROZOF whose telephone number is (571)270-5992. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Kosar can be reached at (571) 272-0913. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY R ROZOF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1625