Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/560,280

ETHACRYNIC ACID DERIVATIVES AS INHIBITORS OF MPRO PROTEASE AND SARS-COV-2 REPLICATION

Final Rejection §102§112
Filed
Nov 10, 2023
Priority
May 12, 2021 — MO 53521 +1 more
Examiner
SCHMITT, MICHAEL J
Art Unit
1629
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
UNIVERSITE EUROMEDITERRANEENNE DE FES
OA Round
2 (Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allowance Rate
372 granted / 655 resolved
-3.2% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
687
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
§103
36.7%
-3.3% vs TC avg
§102
15.2%
-24.8% vs TC avg
§112
21.4%
-18.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 655 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-12 were pending. Claims 1-8 have been amended and claims 9-10 have been canceled per the Reply of 8/31/2026. Claims 1-8 and 11-12 are pending and the Subject of the Office Action below. 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 . Priority The instant application, filed 11/10/2023 is a National Stage entry of PCT/MA2022/000005, with an International Filing Date of 5/10/2022 and claims foreign priority to 53521, filed 5/12/2021. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b) (NEW Rejection based on Amendment) 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. Claim 3 is 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 3 states, “n and n', which may be identical or different and independently of each other, represent the length of the alkyl, hydroxy, perfluoroalkyl, alkylthio, aminoalkyl, or alkoxy chain, which may comprise from 0 to 10 carbon atoms.” Based on the structure n and n' can only modify a CH2 group, and how many CH2 groups are in the chain. This structure doesn’t allow for hydroxy, perfluoroalkyl, alkylthio, aminoalkyl, or alkoxy chains. There are no variables in this group as drawn, as such this limitation is unclear as to what is being claimed. Applicant would need to amend the structure or the list. Therefore, this claim is indefinite as the structure claimed, and the definition of n and n' are contradictory. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 (NEW Rejection based on Amendment) In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Carson US20110306671A1 published 12/15/2011. Claim 3 is directed to a genus of compounds as a pharmaceutical composition. Carson teaches the following compounds as pharmaceutical compounds useful in treating cancer and inflammation. PNG media_image1.png 940 761 media_image1.png Greyscale Claim 3 is anticipated. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-2 and 11-12 are allowed. Claims 4-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 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 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 MICHAEL J SCHMITT whose telephone number is (571)270-7047. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6 MidDay Flex. 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, Jeffrey Lundgren can be reached at 571-272-5541. 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. /MICHAEL J SCHMITT/Examiner, Art Unit 1629 /JEFFREY S LUNDGREN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1629
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 10, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
Aug 31, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 23, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
57%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (+20.7%)
2y 10m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 655 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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