Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/566,584

METHIONINE ADENOSYLTRANSFERASE 2A INHIBITOR

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Dec 01, 2023
Examiner
SHOWALTER, ALEXANDER KEITH
Art Unit
1629
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Nanjing Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
54%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 54% of resolved cases
54%
Career Allow Rate
37 granted / 69 resolved
-6.4% vs TC avg
Strong +52% interview lift
Without
With
+51.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 8m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
115
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.5%
-37.5% vs TC avg
§103
34.3%
-5.7% vs TC avg
§102
14.5%
-25.5% vs TC avg
§112
32.6%
-7.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 69 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 . Priority The present Application, filed December 1, 2023, is a national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2022/096370, filed May 31, 2022, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN20210612811, filed June 2, 2021. Status of the Claims In the amendment filed December 1, 2023, and new claims 11-14 are added and claims 3-6 and 8-10 are amended. Claims 1-14 are currently pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 1, 2023 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. Claims 3-6 and 11-14 are indefinite: Claims 3-6 and 11-14 are 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. In particular, each of these claims, depending from claim 1 (claims 3-6) or from claim 2 (claims 11-14), recites a narrowed Markush group for several variable chemical moieties, and then recites even more narrowed Markush groups for the same variables, describing the narrower groups as being preferable or more preferable. For example, claim 3 recites the compound of claim 1 wherein R1, R4, R5, R6, and R7 are selected from a smaller set of chemical functional groups than that of claim 1, but also recites “preferably” an even smaller Markush group, “more preferably” a still smaller Markush group, and so on. Claims 4-6 and 11-14 are similar. Description of examples or preferences in this manner should be set forth in the specification rather than the claims because, when recited in the claims, examples and preferences create confusion over the intended claim scope. See MPEP § 2173.05(d) and cases cited therein. 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. Claims 1-2, 4-6, and 12-14 are anticipated by Matsumoto: Claims 1-2, 4-6, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the non-patent publication, Reaction of pyridinium dicyanomethylide with diphenylcyclopropenone and diphenylcyclopropenethione, Chem. Comm., 24, pgs. 1045-1046 (1976) by Matsumoto et al. (hereinafter, “Matsumoto”). Claim 1 recites a compound of formula I PNG media_image1.png 142 142 media_image1.png Greyscale where the variable moieties are as defined. Matsumoto 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of pyidinium dicyanomethylide to diphenycyclopropenone to produce 2H-quinolizin-2-one (compound 4): PNG media_image2.png 89 92 media_image2.png Greyscale Compound 4 of Matsumoto is a compound of instant claim 1, formula 1, where X is CR4; Y is CR5; Z is CR6; W is CR7; R4-R7 is each hydrogen; R1 is cyano; and R2 and R3 are each phenyl (6-membered aryl). With respect to claim 2, compound 4 of Matsumoto is a compound of instant formula III, where R1-R7 are as defined above. With respect to claim 4, as noted above, instant R4-R6 are hydrogen in compound 4 of Matsumoto. With respect to claims 5 and 6, as noted above, instant R2 and R3 are each phenyl in compound 4 of Matsumoto. Claims 12-14 combine the limitations of claims 4-6, respectively, with the limitations of claim 2. As noted above, compound 4 of Matsumoto is a compound of claim 2, and also satisfies the limitations of claims 4-6. As such, compound 4 of Matsumoto anticipates claims 12-14, as well. Claims 1-6 and 11-14 are anticipated by Yang: Claims 1-6 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the non-patent publication, Controllable synthesis of 3-iodo-2H-quinolizin-2-ones and 1,3-diiodo-2H-quinolizin-2-ones via electrophilic cyclization of azacyclic ynones, Chem. Comm., 55, pgs. 12607-12610 (2019) by Yang et al. (hereinafter, “Yang”). Yang teaches electrophilic annulation of azacyclic ynones to produce various 3-iodo-2H-quinolizin-2-ones and 1,3-diiodo-2H-quinolizin-2-ones (Abstract) as well as further transformations of these products (e.g. pg. 12609, Scheme 2). As one further transformation produce, Yang discloses compound 5, obtained via a Suzuki reaction of the 1,3-diiodo-2H-quinolizin-2-one, compound 3a: PNG media_image3.png 84 77 media_image3.png Greyscale Yang compound 5 is a compound of instant claim 1 where X is CR4; Y is CR5; Z is CR6; W is CR7; R4-R7 is each hydrogen; and each of R1-R3 is phenyl (6-membered aryl). With respect to claim 2, compound 5 of Yang is a compound of instant formula III, where R1-R7 are as defined above. With respect to claim 3, as noted, instant R1 is phenyl (6-membered aryl) and instant R4-R7 are each hydrogen in compound 5 of Yang. With respect to claim 4, as noted above, instant R4-R6 are hydrogen in compound 5 of Yang. With respect to claims 5 and 6, as noted above, instant R2 and R3 are each phenyl in compound 5 of Yang. Claims 11-14 combine the limitations of claims 3-6, respectively, with the limitations of claim 2. As noted above, compound 5 of Yang is a compound of claim 2, and also satisfies the limitations of claims 3-6. As such, compound 5 of Yang anticipates claims 11-14, as well. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7-10 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER K SHOWALTER whose telephone number is (571)270-0610. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time. 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 S Lundgren can be reached on (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. /ALEXANDER K. SHOWALTER/Examiner, Art Unit 1629 /JEFFREY S LUNDGREN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1629
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 01, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
54%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+51.6%)
3y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 69 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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