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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 22-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2020/0238253 to Yonezawa et al.
In the specification and figures, Yonezawa et al discloses the methods substantially as claimed by Applicant. With regard to claims 22 and 33, Yonezawa discloses that it is known that dialysis treatment alone is insufficient to reduce blood phosphorous concentration, and that the disclosed treatment module may be used to reduce phosphorous concentration in the blood, suggesting that the instantly disclosed treatment module may be used in combination with dialysis (see ¶0002, 0018). Yonezawa further discloses that blood is fed through the disclosed adsorbent treatment module 7 via inlet 1a and outlet 2a (see FIG, ¶0044). The adsorber may comprise a water-insoluble carrier with adsorbents bound thereto via a linker, and are selected from a amino groups, carboxyl groups, phosphate groups, phosphono groups, phosphino groups, and thiol groups (see ¶0009-10). Accordingly, Yonezowa suggests the method as claimed by Applicant.
With regard to claims 23-24, Yonezawa (as evidenced by Yamada1) suggests that the method is known in the art. Furthermore, the use of a known product for a new use does not necessarily render the new use patentably distinct from the prior art, unless a new and unexpected result is produced (see MPEP §2112, 2112.02 (II)). The instant Specification does not provide evidence of unexpected results. Nonetheless, the treatment disclosed by Yonezawa (see ¶002, 0018) is capable of causing a decrease in calciproteins, alleviating both calciphylaxis (calcium buildup in blood vessels), as well as reducing phosphorous levels to prevent cerebrovascular accident (stroke, brain hemorrhage, as evidenced by Yamada, who teaches that high phosphorous levels are a risk factor for brain hemhorrage).
With regard to claims 25-28, 34-37, Yonezawa discloses that the linker group may comprise one or more hydrocarbon groups, as well as a substituent alkyl group (see ¶0025).
With regard to claims 29-31, 38-40, Yonezawa discloses that the treatment material may comprise 2 or more phosphonate groups bound to the linker group (see ¶0013), a porous water-insoluble carrier (see ¶0015) and a water-insoluble carrier has an exclusion limit molecular weight of 1,000 or more and 10,000,000 or less (see ¶0037).
With regard to claims 32 and 41, Yonezawa discloses that the adsorbent compound may comprise pamidronic acid, alendronic acid and neridronic acid (see ¶0041).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2024/0241140 Kuroo
Methods of adsorbing calciproteins
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/LESLIE R DEAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 2 March 2026
1 See Yamada S, Tsuruya K, Taniguchi M, Tokumoto M, Fujisaki K, Hirakata H, Fujimi S, Kitazono T. Association Between Serum Phosphate Levels and Stroke Risk in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: The Q-Cohort Study. Stroke. 2016 Sep;47(9):2189-96.