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
The instant application is the national stage entry of PCT/KR2021/017840 filed 30 November 2021. Acknowledgement is made of the Applicant’s claim of foreign priority to application KR10-2021-0126659 filed 24 September 2021.
Election/Restrictions
Claim 12 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 24 June 2026.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-12 are pending.
Claim 12 is withdrawn.
Claims 1-10 are rejected.
Claim 11 is allowable.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. 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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatenable over Kim et al. (Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 5780, pgs 1-13) in view of Yu et al. (J. Anat. (2014) 225, pp 510-518).
Kim teaches that tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cell nanovesicles (TMSC-NVs) have an effect on recovering from cellular senescence by oxidative stress and can be applied as useful materials for the development of skin rejuvenation and anti-aging purposes (abstract; pg 10, sec 4). To prepare the TMSC, human tonsil tissue was chopped and digested using collagenase type 1 and DNase 1, filtered, and then centrifuged to isolate a pellet (pg 2, sec 2.1). The cells were then cultured in DMEM (id). The resulting TMSCs were suspended in culture media and centrifuged to form a cell pellet (i.e. removal of supernatant) which was further resuspended in PBS (pg 2, sec 2.2). The cells were sequentially passed through filter papers with pore sizes of 10, 5, and 0.4 mm using an extruder to produce TMSC-NVs (id). Kim teaches that TMSCs are positive for MCS markers including CD90, CD105, and CD73 (pg 3, sec 3). The diameters of the nanovesicles have peaks at 88.5 and 228.3 nm (id). Kim teaches using TMSC derived nanovesicles from passages 2-4 (pg 2, sec 2.2).
Kim does not teach wherein the TMSCs are CD146 positive. Kim does not teach applying the TMSC-NVs to the skin of a subject in need thereof.
Yu teaches that a considerable level of CD146 positive cells are found in TMSCs at passage 3 (pg 513, col 1).
It would have been prima facie obvious to prepare the TMSC-NVs of Kim in the process described, using TMSC-NVs from passage 3, and then apply said nanovesicles to the skin of a patient for the purpose of skin regeneration and anti-aging. Kim teaches using the nanovesicles for this purpose. The resulting method of skin regeneration renders obvious instant claims 1-10.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 appears to be free of the art and would be allowable if written as an independent claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW S ROSENTHAL whose telephone number is (571)272-6276. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Kwon can be reached at 571-272-0581. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW S ROSENTHAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1613
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