Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/562,768

BIOMARKERS FOR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Nov 20, 2023
Priority
May 21, 2021 — provisional 63/191,739 +1 more
Examiner
RAHMANI, NILOOFAR
Art Unit
1691
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
BELITE BIO, LLC
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
882 granted / 1138 resolved
+17.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -3% lift
Without
With
+-3.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1152
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.7%
-37.3% vs TC avg
§103
14.1%
-25.9% vs TC avg
§102
27.6%
-12.4% vs TC avg
§112
39.2%
-0.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1138 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1, 4, 6, 9-10, 12-13, 48-52, 54, 56, 58-59, 61, 64-66 are pending in the instant application. Applicant's election without traverse of group II, claims 48-52, 54, 56 in the reply filed on 06/26/2026 is acknowledged. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 48-52, 54, 56 are examined. Claims 1, 4, 6, 9-10, 12-13, 58-59, 61, 64-66 are withdrawn per 37 CFR 1.142(b). 2. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 48-52, 54, 56 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim contains subject matter, which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. The specification lacks enablement of the term “RBP4 inhibitor”, which are claimed in the method claims. While enabling for RBP4 inhibitor has the structure of PNG media_image1.png 254 314 media_image1.png Greyscale in claim 56, it is not seen where this is enables for other RBLP4 inhibitor. Therefore, the specification lacks enablement for the term “RBLP4 inhibitor” other than the structure in claim 56. 3. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-5, and 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a) as being anticipated by Cioffi et al., US 9434727. Cioffi et al. discloses the instant claimed compound on column 12 as follow: PNG media_image2.png 228 306 media_image2.png Greyscale , which anticipates the instant claims and can be used for treating age-related macular degeneration. The genomic variants are inherently there. There are people has some of these genomic variants and the other people has all or none of these genomic variants. Therefore, the instant claims are anticipated by Cioffi et al. 4. Claims 1-5, and 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a) as being anticipated by Lin et al., US 11389444. Lin et al. discloses the instant claimed compound on column 7 as follow: PNG media_image2.png 228 306 media_image2.png Greyscale , which anticipates the instant claims and can be used for treating age-related macular degeneration. The genomic variants are inherently there. There are people has some of these genomic variants and the other people has all or none of these genomic variants. Therefore, the instant claims are anticipated by Lin et al. 5. Claims 1-5, and 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a) as being anticipated by Petrukhin et al., WO 2020028723. Petrukhin et al. discloses the instant claimed compound on page 66 as follow: PNG media_image2.png 228 306 media_image2.png Greyscale , which anticipates the instant claims and can be used for treating age-related macular degeneration. The genomic variants are inherently there. There are people has some of these genomic variants and the other people has all or none of these genomic variants. Therefore, the instant claims are anticipated by Petrukhin et al. 6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Niloofar Rahmani whose telephone number is 571-272-4329. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee Claytor, can be reached on 571-272-8394. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 703-872-9306. 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). /NILOOFAR RAHMANI/ 07/13/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 20, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
Jan 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
Jun 26, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (current)

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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
78%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (-3.1%)
1y 11m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1138 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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