Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/556,556

RHABDOVIRUS-NEGATIVE SPODOPTERA FRUGIPERDA INSECT CELL LINE, AND SCREENING, IDENTIFICATION AND APPLICATION THEREOF

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Oct 20, 2023
Priority
Mar 01, 2022 — CN 202210194024.X +1 more
Examiner
LY, KRISTINA ELISABETH
Art Unit
1671
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Westvac Biopharma Co. Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
50%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 50% of resolved cases
50%
Career Allowance Rate
2 granted / 4 resolved
-10.0% vs TC avg
Strong +100% interview lift
Without
With
+100.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
49 currently pending
Career history
37
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.4%
-33.6% vs TC avg
§103
30.3%
-9.7% vs TC avg
§102
12.8%
-27.2% vs TC avg
§112
38.5%
-1.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 4 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Status 2. This Office Action is in response to the amendment filed 25 May 2026, wherein Applicant amended claims 1, 4-6, and 10-11 and canceled claim 8. Claims 1-7 and 9-14 are under consideration. Priority 3. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Objections Withdrawn Specification 4. The objection to the specification for hyperlinks is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments. 5. The objection to the specification for use of trade names or trademarks without proper identifier is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments. Claim Objections 6. The objections to claims 1, 4-6, 8, and 10-11 for informalities are withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments. Rejections Withdrawn Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b) 7. The rejection of claim 8 (misidentified as claim 9 in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 23 February 2026) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a) – Written Description 8. Applicant’s arguments, see page 6 of Applicant’s Remarks/Arguments, filed 25 May 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 2-4 and 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement in regards to an antibody (see section 10 of the Non-Final Office Action mailed 23 February 2026) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 2-4 and 8 has been withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a) – Enablement 9. Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-7 of Applicant’s Remarks/Arguments, filed 25 May 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 2-4 and 8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, for not providing enablement for a method of producing an antibody (see section 12 of the Non-Final Office Action mailed 23 February 2026) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 2-4 and 8 has been withdrawn. Rejections Maintained Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a) – Enablement 10. Claims 1-7 and 9-14 remain rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claims are drawn to a Rhabdovirus-negative Spodoptera frugiperda insect cell line WSK-Sf9 that has been deposited with the accession number C202246. However, not all statements or declarations have been provided as related to the Budapest Treaty and that all restrictions imposed by the depositor on the availability to the public of the deposited material will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of a patent. Applicant’s Arguments: Applicant has submitted a signed statement filed on 25 May 2026 and cited the Instant Specification to show support for the accession number, date of deposit, description of the material, and the name and address of the depository. Examiner’s Response to Traversal: Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but they are not found persuasive with respect to the issue below. The biological deposit statement does not indicate that the deposit has been accepted under the Budapest Treaty nor does it contain a viability statement. See MPEP § 2409, ¶ 2. New Objections Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: The comma after WSK-Sf9 in line 2 should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required. Art-free Subject Matter 11. A Rhabdovirus-negative Spodoptera frugiperda insect cell line WSK-Sf9 that has been deposited with the accession number C202246 is free of the prior art of record. Conclusion 12. No claim is allowed. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 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 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTINA E LY whose telephone number is (571)272-5169. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST. 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, Michael Allen can be reached at (571) 270-3497. 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. /KRISTINA E. LY/Examiner, Art Unit 1671 /Michael Allen/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1671
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 20, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 11, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 25, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 24, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12655396
CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF RECOMBINANT H5N8 SUBTYPE AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS CARRYING MAPPLE FLUORESCENCE REPORTER GENE
2y 11m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 1 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
50%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+100.0%)
3y 0m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 4 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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