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
This application is a 371 of PCT/KR2022/017789.
The response filed on July 12, 2026 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-3 and 6-9) in the reply filed on July 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 July 12, 2026.
Claim Status
Claims 1-3 and 6-14 are pending
Claims 10-14 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-3 and 6-9 are under examination.
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October May 3, 2024 and June 27, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because it contains an embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code, for example pages 15 and 23. Applicant is required to delete the embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code; references to websites should be limited to the top-level domain name without any prefix such as http:// or other browser-executable code. See MPEP § 608.01.
Claim Objection
Claim 1 is objected to in the recitation of ''SORD protein in greater than..”. It appears Applicant has meant to recite “SORD protein is greater than..”. Appropriate correction is requested.
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 and 7 and claims 2-3, 6, and 8-9 depending therefrom 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.
The term “poor” in claims 1 and 7 is a relative term which renders the claims indefinite. The term “poor” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear as to what prognosis is considered as “poor”. A perusal of the specification did not provide a clear definition for the above phrase. Without a clear definition in terms of numerical value, those skilled in the art would be unable to ascertain what prognosis is poor.
Claim 7 is 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.
Claim 7 recites the phrase “, information for predicting a poor prognosis after liver cancer surgery is provided”. The metes and bounds of the phrase in the context of the above claim are not clear to the Examiner. It is unclear what information is provided.
Relevant Art
Seo (KR 10-2019-0026179 - PTO-1449 and English Translation of KR 10-2019-0026179. Retrieved on September 21, 2026 – form PTO-892) discloses a method of diagnosing a prognosis after liver cancer surgery comprising (a) contacting a biological sample from a liver cancer patient prior to liver cancer surgery with an antibody that specifically binds to an L-iditol-2-dehydrogenase (SORD) protein, (b) detecting the level of the SORD protein in the sample, and (c) diagnosing a poor prognosis after the liver cancer surgery. However, Seo and the prior art do not disclose determining whether the level of the SORD protein in the sample is greater than or equal to 15 ng/mL, wherein the level of SORD protein greater than or equal to 15 ng/mL indicates a poor prognosis.
Jeon (Serum Sorbitol Dehydrogenase as a Novel Prognostic Factor for Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Surgical Resection. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 6;13(23):6143 – form PTO-892) discloses that serum SORD level greater than or equal to 15 ng/mL is associated with a shorter recurrence-free survival and poor prognosis (abstract), but is not available as prior art because the reference was published or made known to the public after the instant invention was effectively filed.
Conclusion
Claims 1-3 and 6-14 are pending
Claims 10-14 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-3 and 6-9 are rejected.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YONG D PAK whose telephone number is (571)272-0935. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 5:30 am - 3:30 pm.
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/YONG D PAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1652
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