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 . Claims 1, 35-37, 39 and 41-42 are pending in this application.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/07/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed 10/07/2025 in response to the previous Office Action (07/07/2025) is acknowledged. Rejection of claims 1, 35-37, 39 and 42 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) has been obviated.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I and a single disclosed species in the reply filed on 03/04/2025 is acknowledged.
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In the previous Final Office Action, the examiner searched the elected species and found a prior art and the search was stopped. Now after applicants filed a Request for Continued Examination (RCE), the search was continued and stopped when a prior art was found. The examiner again recommends that applicants review their invention.
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.
Claims 1, 37 and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsutsumi et al. WO 2003004494 A1. Cited reference teaches the following compound that is the same as applicants when applicant’s Formula IIA has the following substituent: R2 = -CH2-heteroaryl substituted (i.e. RE = H, n = 1 and R5 = oxadiazol); and A = heteroaryl substituted by methylethenyl.
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Since the above compound is the same as applicants, a 102(a)(1) rejection is proper.
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 39 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 39 is rejected because it is improperly dependent on claim 1. Claim 39 that depend on claim 1 recites the definition of “R5 = OCH3, N(CH3)2, C(O)N(CH3)2, phenyl, cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl”, but said definition lack a sufficient antecedent basis in claim 1. Note that the definition of R5 in claim 1 is 5-6 membered heteroaryl optionally substituted by 1 or 2 independently selected Rb groups.
Objection
9. Claims 35-36 and 41 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but may be allowable after further search if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kahsay Habte Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571)272-0667. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 - 5:00 PM.
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, JEFFREY MURRAY can be reached on 571-272-9023. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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 https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. 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.
/Kahsay Habte/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624
October 8, 2025