DETAILED ACTION
A non-final Office action was mailed 19 March 2025 (“Office Action”).
Applicant’s reply was received 19 September 2025.
Status of the Claims
The listing of claims filed 19 September 2025 has been considered.
Claims 1, 7, 13, 17, 18, 20–22, 25, 45, 48, 50, 62, 64–68, 87, 88, and 91 are pending. Claims 1, 45, 48, 50, 62, 64 – 68, 88, and 91 are amended. Claims 2–6, 8–12, 14–16, 19, 23, 24, 26–44, 46, 47, 49, 51–61, 63, 69–86, 89, and 90 are canceled. Claims 25, 68, 87, 88, and 91 are withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 19 September 2025 is acknowledged and has been considered.
Status of Rejections and Objections
Unless repeated herein, any objection or rejection set forth in the Office Action is withdrawn. In particular, the claim amendments overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and several double patenting rejections. Applicant’s argument with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is persuasive and that rejection is withdrawn.
The text providing the basis for non-statutory double patenting rejections not included in this action can be found in the Office Action.
Scope of Search and Examination
Applicant has overcome the prior art rejections of record, so the search was further extended to more non-elected species. Claim 1 is free of the prior art. The restriction of claim 25 based on the election of species is withdrawn and claim 25 is rejoined. A double patenting rejection of claim 66 is maintained herein. Claims 68, 87, 88, and 91 remain withdrawn.
Double Patenting
Claim 66 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 59 of copending Application No. 18/463,183 (“the ’183 application” or “reference claim”).
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because at least one compound is claimed in claim 66 and the reference claim:
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The conflicting claims have not been unnecessarily searched and may share other compounds. Applicant is encouraged to review conflicting claims for additional overlap.
Due to the overlap in the claimed subject matter, an infringer of a patent granted based on the claim of the instant application or the reference claim may also be an infringer of the other.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 7, 13, 17, 18, 20–22, 25, 45, 48, 50, 62, 64, 65, and 67 are allowed.
Conclusion
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 C.F.R. § 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 C.F.R. § 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 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.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason Nolan at (571) 272-2480. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday between 9:00–5:00.
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 submit an Automated Interview Request: http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Milligan, can be reached on 571-270-7674.
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.
/JASON M. NOLAN/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1623
/ADAM C MILLIGAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1623
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