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
This application is a national stage entry of PCT/US2022/047552 filed on 10/24/2022, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/273,710 filed on 10/29/2021.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1, 26-30, 32-36 and 38-42) drawn to a compound and
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as the species of a compound in the reply filed on June 9, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 24, 27 and 29-43 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected group or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claims 1, 26 and 28 are being examined as they read on the elected species.
Claim Objections
The claims submitted on March 7, 2024 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim amendments should begin on a new page. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 84683129, 2-[4-(aminomethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-N,N-dimethylethanamine. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/84683129. Created 10-21-2014.
Claim 1 of the instant application claims a compound having the following formula
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wherein R1 is CH2NH2, and R2 and R3 are both methyl.
CID 84683129 has the following structure:
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which anticipates claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 26 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olson WO 2018/064465 A1.
Claims 1, 26 and 28 of the instant application claim a compound having the following formula
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wherein R1 is CH2NHSO2CH3, R2 and R3 are both methyl having the following structure
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.
Olson teaches non-hallucinogenic analogs of psychedelic compounds for increasing neural plasticity of the neuronal cell, and a method of using thereof for treating a brain disorder (abstract). Olsen teaches a method of using non-hallucinogenic analogs of psychedelic compounds for treatment of a brain disorder [0016]. The brain disorder can be a psychiatric disorder including depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder [0016]. The brain disorder can be a substance use disorder, and the brain disorder can be a neurodegenerative disorder including Alzheimer’s and/or Parkinson's diseases [0016].
Olsen teaches the non-hallucinogenic analog of a psychedelic compound is a compound of formula IIa:
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wherein R9 and R10 are hydrogen; p is 2; R11 is di(C1-C6 alkyl)amino; R12 is hydrogen; q is 1; L3 is -NHSO2- or -SO2NRb- such as -SO2NH- (wherein the NH is attached to the CH group and R8 is attached to the SO2 group); and R8 is C1-C6 alkyl ([0136], [0138] and claim 16). Olsen further specifically teaches that R8 is methyl [0140]. Olsen further specifically teaches that R11 is N(CH3)2 [0145]. Thus, Olsen teaches the following structure:
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wherein G3, G4 and G6 are hydrogen, and Ak is methyl.
The prior art does not appear to provide sufficient specificity, i.e., involves too much "picking and choosing" to give rise to anticipation. See Coming Glass Works v. Sumitomo Elec., 868 F.2d 1251, 1262 (Fed. Circ. 1989). That being said, it must be remembered that "[w]hen a patent simply arranges old elements with each performing the same function it had been known to perform and yields no more than one would expect ....the combination is obvious". KSR v. Teleflex, 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1740 (2007)(quoting Sakraida v. A.G. Pro, 425 U.S. 273, 282 (1976)). Consistent with this reasoning, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have selected the various combinations of features claimed from within the prior art disclosure specifically, a compound of formula IIa:
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wherein R9 and R10 are hydrogen; p is 2; R11 is di(C1-C6 alkyl)amino, specifically N(CH3)2; R12 is hydrogen; q is 1; L3 is -NHSO2- or -SO2NRb- such as -SO2NH- (wherein the NH is attached to the CH group and R8 is attached to the SO2 group); and R8 is C1-C6 alkyl specifically methyl, to arrive at the instantly claimed subject matter.
Thus claims 1, 26 and 28 are rendered obvious in view of the cited prior art teachings.
Conclusion
Claims 1, 26 and 28 are rejected. Claims 2-23 and 25 are canceled. Claims 24, 27, 29-43 are withdrawn. No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARA R. MCMILLIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5236. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday-Friday 12:00 PM-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam C. Milligan can be reached at (571)270-7674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KARA R. MCMILLIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1623
KRM
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