Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 28, 2026
Application No. 18/281,047

CHIRAL SYNTHONS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF CHIRAL PHOSPHOROTHIOATES

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Sep 08, 2023
Priority
Mar 18, 2021 — EU 21163531.3 +2 more
Examiner
OTTON, ALICIA L
Art Unit
1699
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM INTERNATIONAL GMBH
OA Round
2 (Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allowance Rate
821 granted / 1264 resolved
+5.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
1297
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
34.5%
-5.5% vs TC avg
§102
24.4%
-15.6% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1264 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION 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 . Response to Remarks and Amendments Applicant’s reply filed March 4, 2026 has been entered. All rejections and objections not explicitly maintained herein are withdrawn. With regard to the rejections of claims 14-15, 17 and 19-20 under 35 USC 112(b) as being indefinite, the rejections are withdrawn in view of the clarifying amendments to the claims. With regard to the objection to claims 4-6, the objection is withdrawn in view of the amendment to delete the recitation of “selected from the group consisting of.” Status of Claims Claims 1-10, 14-15, 17, 19-20 and 22-23 remain pending and under consideration herein, with claims 22-23 being newly added. Claim Rejections – 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 23 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 23 recites the limitation " PNG media_image1.png 171 484 media_image1.png Greyscale " in the synthesis process. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because the claim does not contain any definitions for the R4, R5 or X variables. Further, the claim depends from claim 7, which does not contain any variables at the positions indicated by R4X and R5X. Appropriate correction is required. Conclusion Claims 1-10, 14-15, 17, 19-20 and 22 are allowed Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alicia L. Otton whose telephone number is (571)270-7683. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday, 8:00-6:00. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mr. Fereydoun Sajjadi can be reached on 571-272-3311. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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 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. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ALICIA L OTTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1699
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 08, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Mar 04, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 24, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 26, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12623995
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3y 3m to grant Granted May 05, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
65%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (+9.0%)
2y 7m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1264 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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