Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 21, 2026
Application No. 18/702,874

COMPOUNDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF MALARIA

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Apr 19, 2024
Priority
Oct 21, 2021 — EU 21382949.2 +1 more
Examiner
HABTE, KAHSAY
Art Unit
1624
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
1394 granted / 1642 resolved
+24.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 8m
Avg Prosecution
54 currently pending
Career history
1675
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
6.3%
-33.7% vs TC avg
§102
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
§112
50.5%
+10.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1642 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Claims 1-4 and 6-11 are pending in this application. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II in the reply filed on 10/01/2026 is acknowledged. Upon further review of the case and search result, it is deemed necessary to withdraw the Restriction Requirement dated 08/10/2026. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-4 and 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention: a. Claim 1 and claims dependent thereon are rejected because the phrase “method of prevent and/or treat a disease” is indefinite. What is covered and what is not? The claim literally covers the treatment and prevention of any disease that is known now and may be discovered later. It is impossible to treat or prevent any disease with the therapeutically effective amount of compound of formula (I). Is this a typographical error? It is recommended that applicants recite the treatment (not the prevention) of a specific disease such as malaria. Note that if applicants recite the prevention of a specific disease, the examiner will raise an enablement issue. b. Claims 1 and 7 and claims dependent thereon are rejected because the phrase “A is an anion” is indefinite. What is covered and what is not? How can one tell if a given anion is not covered by the claim? To overcome this rejection, the examiner recommends that applicants recite specific anions. c. In claim 11, the phrase “symptoms, complications and/or sequela” is indefinite. What symptoms? How can one tell if a given symptom is not a symptom of malaria? What complications and sequela of malaria are covered and what are not? To overcome this rejection, the examiner recommends that applicants amend the claim as “A method of treating malaria in a subject in need thereof…”. Information Disclosure Statement 5. Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement, filed on 07/12/2024 has been acknowledged. Please refer to Applicant’s copies of the 1449 submitted herewith. Conclusion 6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kahsay Habte Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571)272-0667. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 - 5:00 PM. 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 MURRAY can be reached on 571-272-9023. 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 https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. 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. /Kahsay Habte/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624 October 13, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 19, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
85%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+7.5%)
1y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1642 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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