Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/692,022

BICYCLIC HETEROCYCLIC DERIVATIVE HAVING VIRAL GROWTH INHIBITORY ACTIVITY AND PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION CONTAINING SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 14, 2024
Priority
Sep 17, 2021 — JP 2021-152086 +3 more
Examiner
SCHMITT, MICHAEL J
Art Unit
1629
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
National University Corporation Hokkaido University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allowance Rate
366 granted / 647 resolved
-3.4% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+21.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
684
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
46.8%
+6.8% vs TC avg
§102
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.5%
-36.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 647 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-20 are pending. 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 The instant application filed 3/14/2024 is a National Stage entry of PCT/JP2022/034552, International Filing Date of 9/15/2022 and claims foreign priority to 2021-152086, filed 9/17/2021; claims foreign priority to 2021-191637, filed 11/26/2021; claims foreign priority to 2022-093120, filed 6/8/2022. Information Disclosure Statement The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 6/14/2024 is 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 § 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. Claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-10, 12, 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee, WO 2020/240493 published 12/3/2020. Lee teaches the following generic structure: PNG media_image1.png 384 614 media_image1.png Greyscale Lee teaches the following anticipatory compounds, 66 and 78: PNG media_image2.png 144 392 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 202 382 media_image3.png Greyscale The species above have the benzene ring as seen in Chemical Formula 2 as Ring A. The m and n are 1. The R1 group is a substituted pyridine. The R2 group is a substituted pyridine or substituted benzene. The rest of the instantly claimed R groups can be hydrogen; therefore these compounds anticipate claim 1. Instant claim 2 limits the A ring to structures including benzene, therefore these compounds anticipate claim 2. Instant claim 6 requires R1 to nitrogen containing, this is the case for both species and is therefore anticipatory. Instant claim 7 is to the A ring benzene, this is shown in both species. Instant claim 9 requires m to be 0 or 1, the species are 1. Instant claim 10 requires the linker to R1 to be hydrogen substituted, this is the case in both species. Instant claim 12 requires the linker to R2 to be substituted with hydrogen, this is the case in both species. Instant claims 14-18 simply state the intended use of a compound, and the intended use doesn’t change the structure of the compound. Therefore the compound itself would have the activity and is anticipatory. Instant claim 19 is directed to preventing by administration. Therefore a person without the disease is within the scope. Given that Lee teaches these compounds as administered to subjects, the act of administration with “prevent” a disease in the subject. Instant claim 20 is directed to the intended use of the compound, the intended use doesn’t change the structure of the compound. Therefore the compound itself would have the activity and is anticipatory. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 Claims 1-2, 4-7, 9-10, 12, 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujiwara, WO 94/19342 published 9/1/1994. Fujiwara teaches the following generic structure: PNG media_image4.png 232 398 media_image4.png Greyscale Fujiwara teaches the following anticipatory compound: PNG media_image5.png 442 622 media_image5.png Greyscale This compound specifically anticipates instant claims 4-5 which require the R2 substituent to be a 6-membered aromatic with one halogen and another G group, in this case 2 chlorines. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 Claims 1-2, 6, 8-9, 12, 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gaudio, WO 2019/185117 published 10/3/2019. Gaudio teaches the following structure: PNG media_image6.png 282 242 media_image6.png Greyscale This structure anticipates instant claim 8 specifically for requiring the “A” ring as being pyridine. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 Claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-12, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seong, WO 2008/004716 published 10/1/2008. Seong teaches the following structure as an intermediate PNG media_image7.png 254 316 media_image7.png Greyscale This structure anticipates instant claim 11 specifically for requiring a halogen at R6 ring as being pyridine. This is an intermediate and therefore doesn’t anticipate the method claims. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3 and 13 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. Conclusion No claims allowed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J SCHMITT whose telephone number is (571)270-7047. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6 MidDay Flex. 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 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. /MICHAEL J SCHMITT/Examiner, Art Unit 1629 /JEFFREY S LUNDGREN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1629
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 14, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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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
57%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (+21.7%)
2y 10m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 647 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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