Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/570,520

PROTEASE INHIBITORS AND METHODS OF USE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 14, 2023
Examiner
FETTEROLF, BRANDON J
Art Unit
1626
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
48%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 1m
To Grant
60%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 48% of resolved cases
48%
Career Allow Rate
84 granted / 177 resolved
-12.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 1m
Avg Prosecution
80 currently pending
Career history
257
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
28.5%
-11.5% vs TC avg
§102
19.6%
-20.4% vs TC avg
§112
28.4%
-11.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 177 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Application Status The preliminary amendment filed on 7/12/2024 is acknowledged. Claims 1-5, 7-10, 12, 14-15, 17-19, 21, 23-25 and 28 are currently pending and under consideration. Information Disclosure Statement The listing of references in the PCT international search report is not considered to be an information disclosure statement (IDS) complying with 37 CFR 1.98. 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2) requires a legible copy of: (1) each foreign patent; (2) each publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; (3) for each cited pending U.S. application, the application specification including claims, and any drawing of the application, or that portion of the application which caused it to be listed including any claims directed to that portion, unless the cited pending U.S. application is stored in the Image File Wrapper (IFW) system; and (4) all other information, or that portion which caused it to be listed. In addition, each IDS must include a list of all patents, publications, applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office (see 37 CFR 1.98(a)(1) and (b)), and MPEP § 609.04(a), subsection I. states, “the list ... must be submitted on a separate paper.” Therefore, the references cited in the international search report have not been considered. Applicant is advised that the date of submission of any item of information in the international search report will be the date of submission of the IDS for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements for the IDS with 37 CFR 1.97, including all timing statement requirements of 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a). Specification The use of the term Teledyne RediSep ® or Biotage ISOLUTE ® SCX-II, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term. Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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(s) 1-4, 7, 9, 14-15 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tintori et al. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2014; 24:280-282, including Supplemental data). Tintori et al. teach high-throughput docking for identification of new influenza A virus polymerase inhibitors targeting PA-PB1 protein-protein interaction (Title). Specifically, Tintori et al. teach a compound having the formula PNG media_image1.png 287 336 media_image1.png Greyscale which reads on the instantly claimed compound of formula (I) when X1-X4 are CR3a-3d (R3a-c=H and R3d is a methoxy), R4 is a 5 membered heteroaryl (tetrazolyl), B is a monocyclic heteroaryl attached through a C, R2 is H, R1a or R1b is CON(R1c)(R1d) (R1c is a C6 cycloalkyl) and R1 is a phenyl (Supplemental Data, ChartS, Cmpd ASN04883323). Claim(s) 1-4, 7-9, 14-15, 17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CAS Registry Number 2637061-41-5 (2021-04-23). CAS Registry Number 2637061-41-5 has the following structure: PNG media_image2.png 218 353 media_image2.png Greyscale which reads on the instantly claimed compound of formula (I) when X1-X4 are CR3a-3d (R3a-d=H), R4 is a 6 membered heterocycle (piperidinyl), B is a 9 membered bicyclic heteroaryl attached through a C, R2 is H, R1a and R1b are H and R1 is a phenyl. Conclusion Therefore, Claims 1-4, 7-9, 14-15 and 17-19 are rejected. Claims 5, 10, 12, 21 and 23 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. Claim 24-25 and 28 which encompass pharmaceutical compositions and method of treatment appear to be free of the prior art and are in condition for allowance. Note: While art has been cited on at least independent claim 1, none of the prior art teaches or suggests a pharmaceutical composition. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US20240239772A1. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON J FETTEROLF whose telephone number is (571)272-2919. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6AM-4PM. 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 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. BRANDON J. FETTEROLF, PHD Primary Patent Examiner Art Unit 1626 /BRANDON J FETTEROLF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
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Patent 12577233
SOLID FORMS OF APOL1 INHIBITOR AND METHODS OF USING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12570640
2-AMINOQUINAZOLINES AS LRRK2 INHIBITORS, PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS, AND USES THEREOF
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
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
48%
Grant Probability
60%
With Interview (+13.0%)
4y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 177 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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