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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (i.e., claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51) in the reply filed on 6/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s cancellation of claims 16 is acknowledged.
There are no new or amended claims.
Furthermore, applicant’s election of the following species of Formula (II) and (VII) for Group I
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without traverse is acknowledged.
Since, the applicant elected group I (i.e., claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51), therefore, based on that election, claims 55 and 56 are withdrawn as being drawn to a non-elected group.
Claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51 are under consideration in this office action and will be examined on the merits.
Status of Claims
Claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51 are pending. Claim 16 is cancelled. There are no new claims.
Claims 10-15, 37-46, and 51 are under consideration in the instant office action.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/21/2025, 10/31/2025 and 7/28/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Applicant Claims
2. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
3. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue, and resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Qian et al. (“ALBUMIN NANOPARTICLES, THE MAKING METHOD, AND USES THEREOF” WO2020/151733A1 (Publication date: 30 July 2020)) herein referred to as Qian.
Regarding claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51, Qian teaches a compound that encompasses Formula II and VII.
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Qian discloses a PARP inhibitor compound; 1(2H)-Phthalazinone, 4-[[3-[[5,6-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazin-7(8H)-yl]carbonyl]-4-fluorophenyl]methyl]-commonly known as “niraparib” (Page 70, Claim 28, line 3).
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as depicted below:
wherein;
R1 in the instant formula VII
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is C1-C4 alkyl optionally substituted by substituents selected from halogen (X = F);
R2 is CH3;
The scope of Qian’s compound overlaps with Formula II and VII of the instant claims.
Compounds that differ only by the presence of an extra methyl group are homologues which are of such close structural similarity that the disclosure of a compound renders prima facie obvious its homologue. The homologue is expected to be preparable by the same method and to have the same properties. This expectation is then deemed the motivation for preparing homologues. Homologues are obvious even in the absence of a specific teaching to methylate, In re Wood 199 USPQ 137; In re Hoke 195 USPQ 148; In re Lohr 137 USPQ 548; In re Magerlein 202 USPQ 473; In re Wiechert 152 USPQ 249; Ex parte Henkel 130 USPQ 474; In re Fauque 121 USPQ 425; In re Druey 138 USPQ 39. In all of these cases, the close structural similarity of two compounds differing by only one (or two) methyl groups sufficed; no specific teaching to methylate was present or required. None of these cases has been overruled and indeed the examiner is unaware of any post Lohr case in which motivation is required to put a methyl group on an old compound.
Based on the foregoing reasons, the instant claims are deemed obvious over the cited art.
Conclusion
Claims 10-15, 37-46 and 51 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAHAR INAM whose telephone number is (571)272-0821. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am-5:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James H Alstrum-Acevedo can be reached at (571) 272-5548. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAHAR INAM/
Examiner, Art Unit 1622
/JAMES H ALSTRUM-ACEVEDO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1622
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