Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/312,418

PHOTOACTIVATABLE COMPOUNDS AND USES THEREOF

Final Rejection §102
Filed
May 04, 2023
Priority
May 04, 2022 — provisional 63/338,322
Examiner
OTTON, ALICIA L
Art Unit
1699
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Promega Corporation
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

§102
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 . Election/Restrictions In accordance with the MPEP, if upon examination of the elected species, no prior art is found that would anticipate or render obvious the instant invention based on the elected species and the claims drawn to the elected species are allowable, the search of the Markush-type claim will be extended (see MPEP 803.02). If prior art is then found that anticipates or renders obvious the non-elected species, the Markush-type claim will be rejected. It should be noted that the prior art search will not be extended unnecessarily to cover all non-elected species. Should Applicant overcome the rejection by amending the claim, the amended claim will be reexamined. Id. The prior art search will be extended to the extent necessary to determine patentability of the Markush-type claim. Id. In the event prior art is found during reexamination that renders obvious or anticipates the amended Markush-type claim, the claim will be rejected and the action made final. Id. As indicated in the previous action, the examiner searched the compound based on the elected species, wherein: no prior art was found on the elected species. Therefore, the scope of the search and consideration was expanded in accordance with MPEP 803.02 to also include the compounds described in the rejections therein. In view of the amendment to overcome the art of record, the scope of the search and consideration is expanded to include the additional compounds described in the rejection herein. Response to Remarks and Amendments Applicants’ response and amendments filed March 2, 2026 has been entered. All rejections and objections not explicitly maintained herein are withdrawn. The rejections below constitute the full set of rejections being applied to the instant claims. With regard to the rejection of claims 1, 4 and 7-10 under 35 USC 112(b), the rejection is withdrawn in view of the amendment to replace all functional language in the definition of Y with structural limitations. With regard to the rejection of claims 1, 8 and 9 under 35 USC 102(a)(1), the rejection is withdrawn in view of the claim amendment. Notably, the amended Y definition does not allow for the particular structure disclosed by the prior art. Status of Claims Currently, claims 1-5, 7-10, 13-14, 16, 19, 22-23, 26 and 29 are pending in the instant application and under consideration herein. Claims 2-3, 5, 14, 16, 19, 23, 26 and 29 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a non-elected invention and/or species. Claims 1, 4, 7-10, 13 and 22 read on an elected invention and species and therefore remain under consideration in the instant application to the extent that they read on the elected embodiment. Claim Objections Claims 4, 10, 13 and 22 are objected to for depending on a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by GB 892811 (“the ‘811 publication”). The prior art teaches the compounds PNG media_image1.png 71 232 media_image1.png Greyscale , PNG media_image2.png 61 291 media_image2.png Greyscale and PNG media_image3.png 66 356 media_image3.png Greyscale (see prior art claims 6, 7 and 8). The prior art compounds read on the instant claims where A is PNG media_image4.png 85 116 media_image4.png Greyscale ; R is hydrogen; n is 1-4; R’ is H and L-Y is PNG media_image5.png 46 73 media_image5.png Greyscale , PNG media_image6.png 50 124 media_image6.png Greyscale and PNG media_image7.png 59 215 media_image7.png Greyscale . Since the prior art teaches all required limitations of instant Formula (I), the compounds of the instant claims are anticipated. Conclusion No claims 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 571-272-0699. 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 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. 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

May 04, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 03, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Mar 02, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 09, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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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