Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/560,843

A TABLET COMPOSITION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 14, 2023
Priority
Jun 07, 2021 — EU 21177956.6 +2 more
Examiner
MRUK, BRIAN P
Art Unit
1761
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Conopco, Inc. d/b/a Unilever
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
989 granted / 1332 resolved
+9.2% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+27.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
43 currently pending
Career history
1369
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
32.5%
-7.5% vs TC avg
§102
26.8%
-13.2% vs TC avg
§112
20.6%
-19.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1332 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION This Office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed March 9, 2026. Applicant has amended claims 1, 3 and 4. Claim 14 has been cancelled. Currently, claims 1-13 remain pending in the application. The text of those sections of Title 35 U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in the prior Office action, Paper No. 20251125. The rejection of claim 14 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, is withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments and remarks. Specifically, claim 14 has been cancelled. The rejection of claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colson et al, WO 2010/039575, with Techno Pharmchem Dextrose Monohydrate, is withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments and remarks. NEW GROUNDS OF REJECTION Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lambotte et al, US 2005/0238711. Lambotte et al, US 2005/0238711, discloses a tablet comprising a fixative (see abstract), wherein suitable fixatives include glucose monohydrate, which has a melting point of 83 degrees Celsius and a solubility of 820 grams per liter (see paragraphs 21-26), that the fixative is present in the tablet in an amount of 20-80% by weight (see paragraph 26), that the tablet further contains 5-50% by weight of sodium carbonate (see paragraph 61), organic builders, such as citric acid (see paragraph 63-64), anionic surfactants, such as alkyl benzene sulphonates (see paragraphs 83-89), nonionic surfactants, such as alcohol ethoxylates (see paragraphs 90-127), wherein the surfactants are included in an amount of 0.1-60% by weight (see paragraph 128), and inorganic acids (see paragraph 130), wherein the tablet is dissolved in water (see paragraph 246), per the requirements of the instant invention. Although Lambotte et al generally discloses a tablet containing citric acid and 0.1-60% by weight of a mixture of nonionic and anionic surfactants, the reference does not require such tablets containing these components with sufficient specificity to constitute anticipation. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have formulated a tablet, as taught by Lambotte et al, which contained citric acid and 0.1-60% by weight of a mixture of nonionic and anionic surfactants, because such tablets fall within the scope of those taught by Lambotte et al. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success, because such a tablet containing citric acid and 0.1-60% by weight of a mixture of nonionic and anionic surfactants is expressly suggested by the Lambotte et al disclosure and therefore is an obvious formulation. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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 BRIAN P MRUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1321. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached on 571-272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /BRIAN P MRUK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761 Brian P Mruk May 12, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 14, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 09, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 09, 2026
Response Filed
May 14, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Aug 14, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

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COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING N-NONANOIC ACID ESTERS OF XYLITAN AND/OR SORBITAN
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+27.9%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1332 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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