NON-FINAL REJECTION
This application is a 35 U.S.C. 371 (national stage) application of PCT/EP2022/086547, filed Dec. 19, 2022, which claims benefit of foreign priority to FR 2114104, filed Dec. 21, 2021.
Claims 16-30, as amended, 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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim to foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on Jun. 20, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 16, 17, 20-27, 29, and 30 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 16 recites reacting an aromatic aldehyde of formula (VI) in a presence of a halomethylation agent.
Claim 17 recites the halomethylation agent preheated to a temperature T1 within a range extending from 23° C to 50° C.
Claim 20 recites an amount of formaldehyde donor is within a range extending from 1 molar equivalent to 7 molar equivalents relative to an amount of the compound of formula (VI).
Claim 21 recites temperature T2 within a range extending from 60° C to 100° C.
Claim 22 recites an organic solvent S1 added at an end of step A1.
Claim 23 recites step A2, carried out in a presence of an organic solvent S2.
Claim 24 recites an organic solvent S1 added at an end of step A1.
Claim 25 recites an amount of the compound of formula (IV) is within a range extending from 1.1 molar equivalents to 6 molar equivalents relative to the compound of formula (V).
Claim 26 recites step A2 carried out at a temperature which is less than or equal to a reflux temperature of the organic solvent S2.
Claim 27 recites an organic solvent S1 added at an end of step A1; and wherein an amount of organic solvent S2 is at least 0.5 volume relative to 1 volume of organic solvent S1.
Claim 29 recites step A2 carried out in a presence of an organic solvent S2.
Claim 30 recites converting the compound of formula (I) into a compound of formula (X) in a presence of at least one organic solvent S4 and at least one oxidant.
These recitations of “a” and “an” could be construed as indefinite because “a” and “an” are indefinite articles, which are non-specific and open-ended; whereas “the” is a definite article, which is specific and refers to only one in particular.
Appropriate correction is required. This objection can be overcome by amending “a” or “an” to “the.”
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ugolnikov et al. (WO 2015/059269; USPN 10,202,471), cited in the specification, disclose the claimed products of formula (I) and (X); the claimed intermediates of formulae (III) and (V); the imidazole of formula (IV); and process steps A2 and A3 (p. 12):
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Ugolnikov et al. do not disclose, teach, or suggest this process without isolating intermediates (III) and/or (V), or step A1.
Yakubov et al., cited in the specification, discloses step A1 of independent claim 16: halomethylation of an aromatic aldehyde to yield the intermediate compound of formula (V).
Singer et al. (US 2010/0324273, of record) disclose halomethylation of an aromatic aldehyde, nucleophilic substitution with an imidazole, and oximation:
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However, none of these references disclose, teach, or suggest carrying out all three steps A1, A2, and A3; or any of these steps without isolating at least one of compounds (III) or (V).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARA E. TOWNSLEY whose telephone number is 571-270-7672. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Jeff S. 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.
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/SARA E. TOWNSLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 1629
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