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 and Status of Claims
1. This application claims benefit of the foreign application: CHINA CN202310198493.3 03/03/2023. However, the instant certified foreign priority document has not filed to the Office. Applicants are requested to file the certified foreign priority document to obtain the priority.
2. Applicant’s remarks filed on 8/12/2026 are acknowledged. Claims 11-21 are pending in the application.
Responses to Amendments/Arguments
3. Applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of claims 11-21 under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) over Aimei et al. ‘500 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants state “The Aimei Chinese patent merely discloses a specific tablet formulation (incorporating excipients such as calcium sulfate and pre-gelatinized starch) designed to improve the dissolution stability of maraviroc for its known indication in treating HIV-1 infections. The Aimei Chinese patent is entirely silent on muscle tissue, let alone skeletal muscle degeneration.”, see page 6.
However, it is noted that instant claim 11 is drawn to a product composition per se, and the preamble “for using in preparation of a drug for treatment of skeletal muscle degenerative disease” does not obtain any patent weight.
Aimei et al. ‘500 discloses a composition comprising maraviroc, calcium sulfate,
starch, lactose, and magnesium stearate, see Example 1 -3 on page 4. Therefore Aimei et al. ‘500 still renders obviousness over the instant invention of claim 11. The rejection of claims 11-21 under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) over Aimei et al. ‘500 is maintained.
4. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicants are reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for replying to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REI TSANG SHIAO whose telephone number is (571)272-0707. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am-5:00 pm.
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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 571-273-8300. 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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/REI TSANG SHIAO/
Rei-tsang Shiao, Ph.D.Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1691
September 21, 2026
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