Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/555,218

CRYSTALLINE FORM OF SPHINGOSINE-1-PHOSPHATE RECEPTOR AGONIST

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 12, 2023
Examiner
ROBINSON, MIKHAIL O'DONNEL
Art Unit
1627
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
LG Chem, Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 6m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allow Rate
59 granted / 103 resolved
-2.7% vs TC avg
Strong +48% interview lift
Without
With
+47.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
50 currently pending
Career history
153
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
§103
41.6%
+1.6% vs TC avg
§102
20.9%
-19.1% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 103 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-2 and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Park et al. (WO 2022220600 A1) published 10/20/2022 with a priority date of 10/2021. The applied reference has a common inventor with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. Regarding claims 1-2 and 5-10, Park teaches a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, scleroderma, autoimmune hepatitis and a disease caused by undesirable lymphocyte infiltration (relevant to claims 7-10) (para. 30) comprising administration of a crystalline form of 1-[1-chloro-6-(3-chloro-1-isopropyl-1H-indazol-5-ylmethoxy)-3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-2-ylmethyl]-piperidine-4-carboxylic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and an acceptable carrier(abstract). Of the acceptable salt Park teaches hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrobromic acid, hydroiodic acid (relevant to claims 5-6) (para. 21) and the crystalline form having X-ray diffraction pattern spectrum of 8.93±0.2°, 9.17±0.2°, 9.49±0.2°, 13.36±0.2°, 13.81±0.2°, 15.04±0.2°, 16.15±0.2°, 17.41±0.2°, 18.07±0.2°, 18.59±0.2°, 19.56±0.2°, 20.75±0.2°, 21.26±0.2°, 21.70±0.2°, 22.66±0.2°, 24.72±0.2°, 25.65±0.2°, 27.19±0.2° and 31.10±0.2° (relevant to claims 1-2) (para. 17). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-4 and 11-16 are free of the arts. Closest prior art is of Park et al. (WO 2022220600 A1), which teaches a crystalline form of 1-[1-chloro-6-(3-chloro-1-isopropyl-1H-indazol-5-ylmethoxy)-3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-2-ylmethyl]-piperidine-4-carboxylic acid. The teachings of Park differ from claimed invention of the X-ray diffraction pattern spectrum of claims 3-4. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0777. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm. 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, Kortney Klinkel can be reached at 571-270-5239. 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. MIKHAIL O'DONNEL. ROBINSON Examiner Art Unit 1627 /MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1627 /SARAH PIHONAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 12, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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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
57%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+47.7%)
3y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 103 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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