Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/369,037

REMOVAL OF FREE-UNLABELED CATIONIC AND ANIONIC SOLUTION PHASE RADIONUCLIDES FROM RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS USING SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION TECHNIQUES

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 15, 2023
Examiner
IQBAL, SYED TAHA
Art Unit
1736
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Viewpoint Molecular Targeting Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
659 granted / 823 resolved
+15.1% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
851
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
40.1%
+0.1% vs TC avg
§102
24.5%
-15.5% vs TC avg
§112
27.1%
-12.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 823 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Larsen US 20190194087. Regarding claim 1, Larsen teaches generation of lead-212 based radio labelled proteins, such as radioimmunoconjugates (Abstract). This is a substance comprising a radionuclide, a conjugator and a protein (Para [0027]). The reference teaches separation of the radionuclides by size exclusion discrimination (Para [0031]) or by ion exchange chromatography via a resin (Para [0033]). Regarding claims 2 and 3, the Larsen reference teaches separation of the radionuclides by size exclusion discrimination (Para [0031]) or by ion exchange chromatography via a resin (Para [0033]). The reference teaches using an actinide resin on a column which retains the radionuclide and the radio pharmaceutical product is eluted and isolated from the free radionuclide (Th228). See Para [0113]. Regarding claim 4, the reference teaches using desalting resin with an embodiment using a Sephadex column (Para [0070]). This is the industrial name for a cross-linked dextran gel (See exemplary reference defining Sephadex Porath “gel filtration…” Pg. #1658, right hand column, second para). Regarding claim 5, the reference teaches the formulation being Pb212 in one example (Para [0035]). 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. Claim(s) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Larsen US 20190194087. Regarding claims 6 and 7, the Larsen reference teaches the formulation being Pb212 in one example (Para [0035]). Before the active filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for a person to use the column separation process of Larsen on Ac-225 or Th-227. One would be selection from a finite number of identified radionuclide elements. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED TAHA IQBAL whose telephone number is (571)270-5857. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7-5. 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, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at (571) 270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SYED T IQBAL/ Examiner, Art Unit 1736 /ANTHONY J ZIMMER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 15, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.2%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 823 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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