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 .
Claims 1-7 are pending.
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.
Claims 2-7 are 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 6 recites "reducing a content of the S-ribosyl homocysteine" and further recites that the composition has "suppressing coloring effect." However, the claim fails to define with reasonable uncertainty that the reference point from which the "content" is reduced, the degree or extent of reduction required, the method by which such reduction is achieved, and the objective standard by which "suppressed coloring" is determined. In particular, the term "reducing" is a relative term because any decrease in S-ribosyl homocysteine content, regardless of magnitude, would arguably satisfy the limitation. The claim does not specify whether the reduction is relative to an initial composition, a control composition, a manufacturing intermediate, a naturally occurring amount, or analytical variation/error.
Additionally, the phrase "having suppressed color" recited in the claims is functional, relative, and subjective because the claim does not recite a measurable absorbance threshold, a colorimetric standard, a comparison control, or any objective test conditions sufficient to determine when coloring is considered "suppressed." Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would not reasonably apprise of the metes and bounds of the claimed 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by NAKATANI et al., WO2019/163767 (English equivalent US 2020/0385769 is provided and used in the rejection) and evidenced by Halliday et al., Analytical Biochemistry, 2010;403:20-29 (Both references are of record from IDS filed 10/12/2023).
NAKATANI et al. teaches E. Coli strain MG1655//pACG-EGT that produce ergothioneine (see Fig. 1 and 4).
Halliday et al. teaches within E. Coli MG1655//pACG-EGT, contains S-robosylhomocysteine (SRH) (see page 26, col. 2, 3rd paragraph).
Accordingly, the cultivating E Coli MG1655//pACG-EGT biomass contains both EGT and SRH.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN MING R HUI whose telephone number is (571)272-0626. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30-5:30.
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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.
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/SAN MING R HUI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
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