Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
90 pending office actions • 55 art units • 85 examiners • 0 of 90 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 70 patents granted in the last 365 days
Cornell University maintains a portfolio in Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals, currently facing 94 pending office actions. The complexity of this portfolio is evident in its distribution across 48 distinct art units, which suggests a wide range of biological and pharmaceutical research topics. Prosecution is decentralized, involving 89 distinct examiners to review the 94 active matters. This distribution across 89 examiners for 94 actions requires a robust management system to ensure consistency across the many different technical groups and individual examiner preferences.
NELSON, MICHAEL B is the busiest examiner for the university, yet this individual manages only 2 of the 94 pending office actions. This means that the actions are being handled by unique examiners, requiring the university to manage 89 different examiner relationships simultaneously. The breadth of 48 distinct art units further emphasizes the need for specialized legal expertise across many different patent office divisions. For the practitioner, the presence of 48 distinct art units and 89 distinct examiners for 94 actions represents a highly fragmented prosecution landscape that demands significant administrative oversight to maintain a unified strategy.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 30 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 30 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 8 (9%) |
| §103 only | 16 (18%) |
| §102 only | 3 (3%) |
| §112 only | 8 (9%) |
| Double-patenting only | 2 (2%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 11 (12%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 42 (47%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| NELSON, MICHAEL B | 2 | 21.2% | +37.0% |
| ALABI, OYELEYE A | 2 | 84.0% | +25.2% |
| DONOHUE, SEAN R | 2 | 41.4% | +21.0% |
| HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | 2 | 50.0% | +40.5% |
| PARKIN, JEFFREY S | 2 | 63.8% | +21.6% |
| DUBOSE, LAUREN | 1 | 59.5% | +45.6% |
| REGLAS, GEORGIANA C | 1 | 38.5% | +34.7% |
| HOLMES, REX R | 1 | 80.1% | +17.9% |
| KWON, JOHN SEUNGJAI | 1 | 45.7% | +19.3% |
| VIJAYARAGHAVAN, JAGAMYA NMN | 1 | 62.5% | +49.3% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17436023 | COMPOSITIONS OF MATTER WITH ACTIVITY TO REMOVE LIPOFUSCIN FROM RETINAL CELLS | BAKSHI, PANCHAM | 181d overdue |
| 17920475 | AN AUTOMATED CONTROLLED RELEASE DEVICE FOR LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | KOHUTKA, BROOKE NICOLE | 87d overdue |
| 17973683 | MECHANICAL VACUUM DRESSING FOR MECHANICALLY MANAGING, PROTECTING AND SUCTIONING SMALL INCISIONAL WOUNDS | TRAN, NHU | 44d overdue |
| 17920931 | METHODS FOR DETECTING TISSUE DAMAGE, GRAFT VERSUS HOST DISEASE, AND INFECTIONS USING CELL-FREE DNA PROFILING | BAUSCH, SARAE L | 38d overdue |
| 18029596 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR INCREASING UPTAKE, INTERNALIZATION, AND/OR RETENTION OF SMALL MOLECULE LIGANDS | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 36d overdue |
| 18006476 | CHELATION CROSSLINKED POLYMERS, METHODS OF MAKING SAME, AND USES THEREOF | NGUYEN, HA S | 35d overdue |
| 17969392 | FLUORINE-FREE OIL REPELLENT COATING, METHODS OF MAKING SAME, AND USES OF SAME | NELSON, MICHAEL B | 26d overdue |
| 17906134 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS COMPRISING IMPROVED GUIDE RNAs | VANHORN, ABIGAIL LOUISE | 22d overdue |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18029596 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR INCREASING UPTAKE, INTERNALIZATION, AND/OR RETENTION OF SMALL MOLECULE LIGANDS | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 36d overdue |
| 17969392 | FLUORINE-FREE OIL REPELLENT COATING, METHODS OF MAKING SAME, AND USES OF SAME | NELSON, MICHAEL B | 26d overdue |
| 18247427 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SYNERGISTIC UPTAKE AND RETENTION OF SMALL MOLECULE LIGANDS | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 11d overdue |
| 18020025 | THERAPEUTICALLY USEFUL CURE-PRO MOLECULES FOR E3 LIGASE MEDIATED DEGRADATION OF PROTEINS, AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THEM | HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | 14d |
| 18020019 | THERAPEUTIC COMPOSITION OF CURE-PRO COMPOUNDS FOR TARGETED DEGRADATION OF BET DOMAIN PROTEINS, AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USAGE | HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | 14d |
| 19239415 | MITRAL VALVES WITH INTEGRATED CUTTING FEATURES | DUBOSE, LAUREN | — |
| 19054625 | THERARONSTIC APPROACH FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE-ASSOCIATED SPONDYLOARTHRITIS | REGLAS, GEORGIANA C | — |
| 18877209 | INTRAVAGINAL DEVICE FOR TREATING PELVIC PAIN | HOLMES, REX R | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1618 | 7 |
| 1633 | 4 |
| 3774 | 3 |
| 1624 | 3 |
| 1638 | 3 |
| 1627 | 3 |
| 3771 | 2 |
| 1651 | 2 |
| 1615 | 2 |
| 1629 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19239415 | MITRAL VALVES WITH INTEGRATED CUTTING FEATURES | DUBOSE, LAUREN | 3771 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 16, 2025 |
| 19054625 | THERARONSTIC APPROACH FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE-ASSOCIATED SPONDYLOARTHRITIS | REGLAS, GEORGIANA C | 1651 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2025 |
| 18877209 | INTRAVAGINAL DEVICE FOR TREATING PELVIC PAIN | HOLMES, REX R | 3796 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 19, 2024 |
| 18865710 | PROTEIN PARTICLES INCLUDING AN ACTIVE AGENT AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THE SAME | KWON, JOHN SEUNGJAI | 1615 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18863977 | ADAPTATIONS FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY AND ALTERED PAM USAGE WITH TN7-CRISPR-CAS TRANSPOSITION SYSTEMS | VIJAYARAGHAVAN, JAGAMYA NMN | 1633 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 07, 2024 |
| 18861012 | ACTIVE AND/OR INTELLIGENT PACKAGING MATERIALS CONTAINING RADICAL SCAVENGING LIGANDS | WOLLSCHLAGER, JEFFREY MICHAEL | 1742 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 28, 2024 |
| 18922685 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING INCREASED VISUALIZATION AND MANIPULATION OF A BODY SIDE WALL | GABR, MOHAMED GAMIL | 3771 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 22, 2024 |
| 18919922 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE IN PLANTS | BUI, PHUONG T | 1663 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 18, 2024 |
| 18911705 | NANOPARTICLE DRUG CONJUGATES | DICKINSON, PAUL W | 1618 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18908740 | ULTRASMALL NANOPARTICLES AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME | CABRAL, ROBERT S | 1614 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 07, 2024 |
| 18824827 | EXTRUSION OF AGRO-FOOD INDUSTRY BYPRODUCTS AND PROTEIN CONCENTRATES INTO VALUE-ADDED FOODS | WATTS, JENNA A | 1791 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 04, 2024 |
| 18841883 | ENGINEERED IMMUNOMODULATORY ACCESSORY CELLS IMPROVE ALLOGENEIC ISLET TRANSPLANTATION WITHOUT IMMUNOSUPPRESSION | LARA, CAROLINE MONSERRAT | 1633 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18779607 | MACROCYCLIC COMPLEXES OF ALPHA-EMITTING RADIONUCLIDES AND THEIR USE IN TARGETED RADIOTHERAPY OF CANCER | SAMALA, JAGADISHWAR RAO | 1618 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18767630 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MICROPATTERNING OBJECTS | PATEL, AREN | 3774 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 10d overdue | Pending | Jul 09, 2024 |
| 18726342 | COMBINATION THERAPIES INCLUDING PARP1 INHIBITORS | SHOWALTER, ALEXANDER KEITH | 1629 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2024 |
| 18757200 | IRE1 SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS | KIFLE, BRUCK | 1624 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 27, 2024 |
| 18722792 | METHODS FOR ENHANCED NUCLEIC ACID DELIVERY | FALKOWITZ, ANNA R | 1600 | DP | Final Rejection | 10d overdue | Pending | Jun 21, 2024 |
| 18739113 | UFMYLATION INHIBITION TO TARGET TAUOPATHY IN HUMAN NEURONS | MARTIN, PAUL C | 1653 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 10, 2024 |
| 18716858 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR GENETICALLY MODIFYING HUMAN GUT MICROBES | DHAR, MATASHA | 1632 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 05, 2024 |
| 18711287 | RNA SEQUENCES THAT INDUCE FLUORESCENCE OF SMALL MOLECULE FLUOROPHORES, MOLECULAR COMPLEXES, SENSORS, AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | MOORE, JOHN DAVID | 1638 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 17, 2024 |
| 18696840 | NICOTINAMIDE RIBOSIDE TRIOLEATES CHLORIDE, COMPOSITIONS CONTAINING THIS COMPOUND, AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THIS COMPOUND | CRAIGO, BAHAR ALAWI | 1699 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 28, 2024 |
| 18687608 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR CELL REPROGRAMMING | BARRON, SEAN C | 1653 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 28, 2024 |
| 18686564 | MULTIVALENT VIRAL PARTICLES | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 1672 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 26, 2024 |
| 18684335 | BROAD SPECTRUM ANTI-MICROBIAL POLYMERIC COMPOSITION | SHOMER, ISAAC | 1612 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | 14d | Pending | Feb 16, 2024 |
| 18681728 | THERAPEUTIC COMPOSITIONS AND RELATED METHODS | SHIAO, YIH-HORNG | 1691 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 06, 2024 |
| 18433538 | METHODS OF CANCER TREATMENT VIA REGULATED FERROPTOSIS | WHEELER, THURMAN MICHAEL | 1619 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 06, 2024 |
| 18293204 | POLYMER NANOPARTICLES VIA CONDENSED DROPLET POLYMERIZATION | STEVENS, MARK V | 1613 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 29, 2024 |
| 18420584 | IN-LINE ORAL DEVICE FOR SLEEP APNEA | MILLER, DANIEL A | 3786 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2024 |
| 18563175 | CRISPR-CAS3 SYSTEMS FOR TARGETED GENOME ENGINEERING | NGUYEN, QUANG | 1631 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 21, 2023 |
| 18562243 | APT1 and APT2 Inhibitors and Uses Thereof | CHENG, KAREN | 1623 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 17, 2023 |
| 18561592 | CONTACTLESS ACOUSTOFLUIDIC SAMPLE AGITATOR AND USES THEREOF | SORKIN, DAVID L | 1799 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 16, 2023 |
| 18560820 | EXTERNAL CRANIAL PROSTHESIS | SHARMA, YASHITA | 3774 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2023 |
| 18557888 | HYDROPHOBIC AND OLEOPHOBIC COATINGS, METHODS OF MAKING SAME AND USES OF SAME | NELSON, MICHAEL B | 1787 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 27, 2023 |
| 18555184 | IMPLANTABLE CELL ENCAPSULATION SYSTEMS | HARRIS, WESLEY G | 3783 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 12, 2023 |
| 18286315 | OPTICAL CLEARING AND AUTO-FLUORESCENCE QUENCHING SOLUTIONS AND METHOD OF USE FOR ENHANCED MICROSCOPY IMAGING OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUES | XU, QING | 1656 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2023 |
| 18285920 | A MULTIPLEX ASSAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF BRUCELLA CANIS INFECTION | CHHAY, BONIRATH | 1645 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 06, 2023 |
| 18552566 | ULTRATHIN POLYMER FILMS AS PROTECTIVE COATINGS FOR BATTERY ELECTRODES | BERNATZ, KEVIN M | 1785 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 26, 2023 |
| 18551786 | ORAL DELIVERY OF SILICA/ALUMINOSILICATE NANOPARTICLES | WESTERBERG, NISSA M | 1618 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 21, 2023 |
| 18550622 | ANODES VIA INTERFACIAL BONDING, METHODS OF MAKING SAME, AND USES THEREOF | CHAU, LINDA N | 1785 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 14, 2023 |
| 18281440 | METHODS FOR IMPROVING POULTRY HEALTH | SEITZ, ANTHONY JOSEPH | 1629 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 11, 2023 |
| 18547725 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING DEEP-LEARNING ALGORITHMS TO FACILITATE DECISION MAKING IN GYNECOLOGIC PRACTICE | TOKARCZYK, CHRISTOPHER B | 3687 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 28d | Pending | Aug 24, 2023 |
| 18277519 | Integrated Quantum Computing with Epitaxial Materials | PATERSON, BRIGITTE A | 2896 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 16, 2023 |
| 18273678 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF COMPOUNDS THAT PROTECT AGAINST LIPOFUSCIN CYTOTOXICITY | COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY | 1624 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18262509 | POLY(CYCLIC ACETAL)S, METHODS OF MAKING SAME, AND USES THEREOF | SERGENT, RABON A | 1765 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18262053 | ARTEMISININ-PROTEASOME INHIBITOR CONJUGATES AND THEIR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE | NESTOR, DONNA MICHELLE | 1627 | §103 | Final Rejection | 16d | Pending | Jul 19, 2023 |
| 18259105 | MULTI-VOLUME MICROCHAMBER-BASED MICROFLUIDIC PLATFORM AND USE THEREOF | ALABI, OYELEYE A | 1797 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2023 |
| 18259101 | GRADIENT-BASED MICROFLUIDIC CIRCUIT, DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING AN ASSAY | ALABI, OYELEYE A | 1797 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2023 |
| 18268472 | ZWITTERIONIC LIPID NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITIONS, AND METHODS OF USE | LIPPERT, JOHN WILLIAM | 1615 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 20, 2023 |
| 18268102 | METHODS OF TREATING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS AND STAT3-LINKED CANCERS USING SUPPRESSORS OF ELECTRON LEAK | MARTIN, KEVIN STEPHEN | 1624 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 6d | Pending | Jun 16, 2023 |
| 18265796 | METHODS OF INDUCING AN IMMUNOMODULATORY TUMOR RESPONSE | KASAYAN, KATRIEL BARCELLANO | 1643 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 07, 2023 |
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Start Free TrialCornell University has 90 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 55 art units and 85 examiners.
Michael B Nelson has the most, with 2 of Cornell University's pending office actions.
Mostly Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals (USPTO Tech Center 1600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.