DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. The amendment filed January 21, 2026 has been received and entered. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code, not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Any rejection set forth in a previous Office action that is not specifically set forth below is withdrawn.
3. Claim 1 is pending.
Election/Restrictions
4. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claim 1, in the reply filed on October 6, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 at step c is indefinite because the definition of “high-sulfated” glycosaminoglycan fraction is unclear. It is unclear what concentrations of sulfate groups must be present in order for the fraction to be considered “high-sulfated.”
Claim 1 at step d is indefinite because it states that “the sulfated glycosaminoglycans” are characterized. However, step c states that fractions are collected. Thus, it is unclear if the fractions from step c are characterized in step d.
Claim 1 at line 16 is indefinite because the antecedent basis for “the sulfated glycosaminoglycan fraction” is unclear. It is unclear if this is referring to the “high-sulfated glycosaminoglycan fraction” collected in step c.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vieira (Eur. J. Biochem. (2004), vol. 271, pp. 845-854) for the reasons set forth in the previous Office action.
All of applicant’s arguments regarding this ground of rejection have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the reference does not teach the claimed invention because the reference does not teach isolation of acharan sulfate from snail mucus. However, as discussed in the previous Office action, page 846 of the reference specifically teaches the collection and analysis of glycosaminoglycans from the snail mucus. The “Collection and analysis of mucus GAGs” section teaches that mucus is collected from live snails, mixed with sodium acetate and papain for enzymatic digestion, isolated and purified the glycosaminoglycans by anion-exchange chromatography, and fractionating to collect fractions. The fractions are then analyzed using HPLC and enzyme digestion (see page 847). Thus, the reference does teach extraction of glycosaminoglycans from snail mucus using steps that overlap substantially with applicant’s claimed invention.
Applicant also argues that the reference does not teach using acetone to defat the snail mucus followed by lyophilization. However, the reference does teach the use of acetone during the extraction of the glycosaminoglycan from the body of the snail (see “Preparation of GAGs from the soft body” section, p. 846). Thus, an artisan of ordinary skill would reasonably expect that this solvent could be used in the extraction of the glycosaminoglycan from the mucus of the snail. This reasonable expectation of success would have motivated the artisan to modify the reference to include the use of acetone in the extraction of the glycosaminoglycan from the snail mucus. In addition, lyophilization is a well known process in the art that is commonly used to powder and preserve material during extraction procedures. Thus, the addition of a lyophilization step to obtain dried mucus is considered to be an obvious modification of the reference method.
7. No claims are allowed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Susan Hoffman whose telephone number is (571)272-0963. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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, Anand Desai can be reached at 571-272-0947. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUSAN HOFFMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1655
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