Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/644,750

CYCLIC CELL-PENETRATING PEPTIDES WITH ONE OR MORE HYDROPHOBIC RESIDUES

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Apr 24, 2024
Priority
May 09, 2018 — provisional 62/669,146 +2 more
Examiner
COFFA, SERGIO
Art Unit
1658
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Ohio State Innovation Foundation
OA Round
4 (Non-Final)
61%
Grant Probability
Moderate
4-5
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 61% of resolved cases
61%
Career Allowance Rate
442 granted / 725 resolved
+1.0% vs TC avg
Strong +33% interview lift
Without
With
+33.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
57 currently pending
Career history
786
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
48.3%
+8.3% vs TC avg
§102
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 725 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 . DETAILED ACTION Claim Status Claims 101, 103-104, 106-111 and 113-118 are pending. Claim 108 has been amended. In the response to the restriction requirement, Applicants elected Group II and the cyclic peptide CPP1-20 (cyclo(AspDecyRRRRQ). Applicants elected species was deemed to be free of the prior art. In accordance with Markush Practice, the search was extended to the Markush group/independent claim, and a reference was discovered that anticipated it. As a result, claims 101, 108-109 and 113 have been examined and claims 103-104, 106-107, 110-111 and 114-118 are withdrawn from consideration. While applicant’s elected species may read on one or more withdrawn claims, they have not been fully examined for patentability, and thus a determination of allowability cannot be made with respect to these claims at this time. This is proper, as MPEP 803.02 states that, in these circumstances, the prior art search, however, will not be extended unnecessarily to cover all nonelected species (MPEP 803.02). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The rejection of claims 108-109 under 35 USC 112(b) is withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The rejection of claim 101 under 35 USC 112(a)(1) as being anticipated by Quian et al. is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s arguments. 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. This is a new rejection. Claims 101, 108-109 and 113 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kemper et al. (US 2016/0271216). With respect to claim 101, Kemper et al. teach the cell penetrating peptide (CPP) RKKRRARRR (SEQ ID NO: 8), wherein the CPP is cyclic (Table 2; para [0129]), which corresponds to instant formula III-B, wherein m is 4, and n is 1 (i.e. c[AAu1-AAu2-AAu3- AAu4-AAx-AAH1-R-R-AAz]), wherein AAu1 is Arg, AAu2 is Lys, AAu3 is Lys, AAu4 is Arg, AAx is Arg, AAH1 is Ala, and AAz is Arg. With respect to claims 108-109, Kemper et al. teach pharmaceutical compositions comprising pharmaceutically acceptable carriers for parenteral administration (paras [0180]-[0182], [0185]). With respect to claim 113, it is noted that AAH1 is Ala, which comprises alkyl as the side chain. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SERGIO COFFA whose telephone number is (571)270-3022. 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, MELISSA FISHER can be reached at 571-270-7430. 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. /SERGIO COFFA Ph.D./ Primary Examiner Art Unit 1658 /SERGIO COFFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1658
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 5 earlier events
Sep 26, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Oct 06, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 03, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
Feb 12, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112
May 14, 2026
Interview Requested
May 26, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
May 26, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
61%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+33.3%)
2y 11m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 725 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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