Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Chemistry & Materials
83 pending office actions • 31 art units • 68 examiners • 0 of 83 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 103 patents granted in the last 365 days
Evonik Operations GmbH manages a large portfolio of 82 pending office actions in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These matters are distributed across 30 distinct art units, reflecting a very broad range of biotech and pharmaceutical research. The company is working with 67 distinct examiners, which is a high number that indicates a very decentralized prosecution experience. This level of dispersion across 30 distinct art units suggests that the company's innovations are being reviewed by many different specialized groups at the office.
RIOJA, MELISSA A is the busiest examiner, managing 4 pending office actions. While this is the highest concentration, it is small relative to the 82 pending office actions total. The involvement of 67 distinct examiners means that most examiners are only handling one or two cases for the company. For practitioners, this broad distribution requires a highly coordinated effort to ensure consistency across so many different technical groups and examiner preferences. The presence of 30 distinct art units is a key factor, as it means the company must navigate a wide variety of art unit standards. With 82 pending office actions, the company's prosecution strategy must be versatile enough to address the diverse requirements of the 67 distinct examiners involved.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 17 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. 17 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 only | 2 (2%) |
| §101 + other | 8 (10%) |
| §103 only | 21 (25%) |
| §102 only | 2 (2%) |
| §112 only | 6 (7%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (1%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 9 (11%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 33 (40%) |
| No statute on record | 1 (1%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| RIOJA, MELISSA A | 4 | 49.4% | +53.8% |
| BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | 3 | 89.4% | +8.4% |
| BOYLE, KARA BRADY | 3 | 61.7% | -10.0% |
| EPSTEIN, TODD MATTHEW | 2 | 60.9% | +43.4% |
| MERCIER, MELISSA S | 2 | 72.1% | +5.9% |
| KRYLOVA, IRINA | 2 | 36.7% | +48.5% |
| COCHENOUR, ZACKARY RICHARD | 2 | 76.5% | +30.9% |
| LENIHAN, JEFFREY S | 2 | 73.0% | +17.0% |
| NGUYEN, HA S | 2 | 58.7% | -21.0% |
| DU, SURBHI M | 2 | 66.9% | +29.1% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 3 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18575876 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS USING RECYCLED POLYOLS | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — |
| 18575871 | RECOVERING DI- AND/OR POLYISOCYANATES FROM PU-DEPOLYMERISATION PROCESSES | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — |
| 18575870 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17627728 | MULTI-BLOCK SHAPE MEMORY BIORESORBABLE POLYMERS | NGUYEN, HA S | 35d overdue |
| 18025021 | SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING OF POLYMERIC POWDERS EMBEDDED WITH WATER-SOLUBLE FLOW ADDITIVES | SIDDIQUEE, TAMEEM | 17d overdue |
| 18331731 | ONE-COMPONENT SYSTEM COMPRISING BLOCKED POLYURETHANE PREPOLYMERS | STONEHOCKER, VIRGINIA LEE | 9d overdue |
| 17636546 | PRODUCTION OF RIGID POLYURETHANE FOAM | BOYLE, KARA BRADY | 16d |
| 18293016 | MICROORGANISMS DISPLAYING VIRAL DECOY RECEPTORS | OGUNBIYI, OLUWATOSIN A | 22d |
| 17995264 | PREPARATION FOR USE AS VASORELAXANT | LEE, HOI YAN NMN | 23d |
| 17757528 | SORBITAN ESTERS AND PROCESS FOR ENZYMATICALLY PREPARING SAME | FERNANDEZ, SUSAN EMILY | 28d |
| 18314808 | COMPOSITION FOR PENETRATING SUGAR BASED DELIVERY SYSTEM | BROWE, DAVID | 30d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17414726 | PRODUCTION OF RIGID POLYURETHANE FOAM | KRYLOVA, IRINA | 15d |
| 18869988 | IMPROVED BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHOD FOR PRODUCING GUANIDINO ACETIC ACID (GAA) BY USING NADH-DEPENDENT DEHYDROGENASES | EPSTEIN, TODD MATTHEW | 28d |
| 18709975 | FOAMED ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAME | KRYLOVA, IRINA | — |
| 18641381 | FOAM STABILIZERS FOR PHENOLIC FOAM | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — |
| 18689909 | COMB-BRANCHED POLYMER/SILICA NANOPARTICLES HYBRID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR SOLID-STATE LITHIUM METAL SECONDARY BATTERIES | COCHENOUR, ZACKARY RICHARD | — |
| 18294243 | NOVEL BISMALEIMIDE COMPOUNDS HAVING IMPROVED SOLUBILITY AND THEIR USE IN CURABLE COMPOSITIONS | LENIHAN, JEFFREY S | — |
| 18575863 | PRODUCTION OF RIGID POLYURETHANE OR POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — |
| 18575869 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS USING RECYCLED POLYOLS | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1766 | 6 |
| 1764 | 4 |
| 1652 | 3 |
| 1763 | 3 |
| 1656 | 3 |
| 1765 | 3 |
| 1742 | 2 |
| 1615 | 2 |
| 1645 | 2 |
| 1613 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19241273 | METHOD FOR PREDICTING A FEEDSTUFF AND/OR FEEDSTUFF RAW MATERIAL | WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M | — | §101 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 17, 2025 |
| 19134796 | MILLED SILICA AND LIQUID RADIATION CURABLE COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING SAME | GRAHAM, ANDREW D | 1742 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 02, 2025 |
| 18870565 | DIGITAL MONITORING OF PATHOGEN LOAD IN LIVESTOCK | EZEWOKO, MICHAEL I | 3682 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | 56d | Pending | Nov 29, 2024 |
| 18869988 | IMPROVED BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHOD FOR PRODUCING GUANIDINO ACETIC ACID (GAA) BY USING NADH-DEPENDENT DEHYDROGENASES | EPSTEIN, TODD MATTHEW | 1652 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | 28d | Pending | Nov 27, 2024 |
| 18870159 | PROCESS FOR PRODUCING MULTIDIMENSIONAL RIGID FOAM PARTS BY MEANS OF JIGSAW PUZZLE-PIECE CONNECTION | KIM, YUNJU | 1742 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 27, 2024 |
| 18846866 | POWDER FOR USE IN A LAYERWISE PROCESS WITH LASERS IN THE VISIBLE AND NEAR-INFRARED RANGE | USELDING, JOHN E | 1743 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 13, 2024 |
| 18846094 | PRE-FUNCTIONALIZED HARD SHELL CAPSULE WITH ACCELERATED DRUG RELEASE AT PH VALUE 5 TO 5.5 | MERCIER, MELISSA S | — | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 11, 2024 |
| 18839546 | BIO BASED COMPOSITION | ASDJODI, MOHAMMADREZA | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 19, 2024 |
| 18838764 | MICROORGANISMS WITH REDUCED COMPETENCE | RAHMAN, MASUDUR | — | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2024 |
| 18838188 | BACILLOTA STRAINS WITH IMPROVED OUTGROWTH | DURYEE, ALEXANDER MARSH | — | §101§102§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 18715265 | IMPROVED ELECTRODE MATERIAL FOR PRINTING ORGANIC POLYMER BATTERIES | SHEWAREGED, BETELHEM | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 05, 2024 |
| 18750658 | METHOD FOR GAS SEPARATION BY MEMBRANES | HOPKINS, ROBERT A | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 21, 2024 |
| 18710325 | ETHYLENE VINYL ACETATE-BASED DISPERSIONS SUITABLE AS POUR POINT DEPRESSANTS WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY | SUE-AKO, ANDREW B. | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 15, 2024 |
| 18709975 | FOAMED ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAME | KRYLOVA, IRINA | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 14, 2024 |
| 18708527 | COMPOSITIONS HAVING CHAIR-SIDE HANDLING PROPERTIES FOR DENTAL AND SOFT TISSUE APPLICATIONS | CRAIGO, WILLIAM A | 1615 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18706399 | NEW METHOD FOR RECYCLING OF POLYURETHANE | RIETH, STEPHEN EDWARD | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 01, 2024 |
| 18641381 | FOAM STABILIZERS FOR PHENOLIC FOAM | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 21, 2024 |
| 18699989 | SILANE-AZODICARBONAMIDE MIXTURES, PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF AND USE THEREOF | BLEDSOE, JOSHUA CALEB | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2024 |
| 18689909 | COMB-BRANCHED POLYMER/SILICA NANOPARTICLES HYBRID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR SOLID-STATE LITHIUM METAL SECONDARY BATTERIES | COCHENOUR, ZACKARY RICHARD | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 07, 2024 |
| 18590673 | COMPOSITION AND THE USE THEREOF AS JOINT COMPOUND | EGWIM, KELECHI CHIDI | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 28, 2024 |
| 18588296 | RECOVERY OF SILOXANE CYCLES | SAWYER, JENNIFER C | — | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2024 |
| 18683134 | DRIED BIOLOGICAL COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS THEREOF | MI, QIUWEN | — | §101§102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 12, 2024 |
| 18294243 | NOVEL BISMALEIMIDE COMPOUNDS HAVING IMPROVED SOLUBILITY AND THEIR USE IN CURABLE COMPOSITIONS | LENIHAN, JEFFREY S | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 01, 2024 |
| 18293093 | FRACTURE-RESISTANT PARTITION COMPRISING SOLID ELECTROLYTE CERAMICS FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS | RIPA, BRYAN D | — | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 29, 2024 |
| 18293016 | MICROORGANISMS DISPLAYING VIRAL DECOY RECEPTORS | OGUNBIYI, OLUWATOSIN A | 1645 | §101 | Non-Final OA | 22d | Pending | Jan 29, 2024 |
| 18292986 | BREAK-RESISTANT PARTITION WALL COMPRISING SOLID ELECTROLYTE CERAMICS FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS | PATEL, SUHANI JITENDRA | 1783 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 29, 2024 |
| 18578280 | VALVE TRAYS IN EXTRACTION COLUMNS | MENON, KRISHNAN S | — | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2024 |
| 18577357 | COMPOSITION COMPRISING A (METH)ACRYLATE COPOLYMER, AN ALKALI OR AMMONIUM SALT OF A SATURATED ALIPHATIC MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID AND SPECIFIC GLIDANTS | FUBARA, BLESSING M | 1613 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 08, 2024 |
| 18575876 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS USING RECYCLED POLYOLS | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575878 | HYDROGENATION OF AROMATIC AMINES FROM PU DECOMPOSITION PROCESSES | DOLETSKI, BLAINE G | — | §103§112DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575863 | PRODUCTION OF RIGID POLYURETHANE OR POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575869 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS USING RECYCLED POLYOLS | RIOJA, MELISSA A | — | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575871 | RECOVERING DI- AND/OR POLYISOCYANATES FROM PU-DEPOLYMERISATION PROCESSES | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575875 | POLYALKYLENE OXIDES AS DISPERSANT FOR GRAPHENE MATERIAL | NASSIRI MOTLAGH, ANITA | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575870 | PRODUCTION OF PU FOAMS | BOYKIN, TERRESSA M | — | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 01, 2024 |
| 18575612 | SILANE MODIFIED ALIPHATIC POLYUREA | LEONARD, MICHAEL L | 1763 | §102§103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 29, 2023 |
| 18570018 | NONANIC ACID ESTERS | JONES-FOSTER, ERICA NICOLE | 1656 | §102 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Dec 13, 2023 |
| 18569398 | SHAPED FLEXIBLE PU FOAM ARTICLES | BOYLE, KARA BRADY | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 12, 2023 |
| 18567296 | SEMICONTINUOUS SUSPENSION POLYMERIZATION OF POLYACRYLATES IN A CAPILLARY REACTOR | LEE, RIP A | — | — | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2023 |
| 18564035 | HYDROGENATED POLYETHER-MODIFIED AMINO-FUNCTIONAL POLYBUTADIENES AND PROCESSES FOR PREPARATION THEREOF | LENIHAN, JEFFREY S | — | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 24, 2023 |
| 18563768 | ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY COMPOSITION FOR TREATING MINERAL SUBSTRATES | ZIMMER, MARC S | — | DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2023 |
| 18563327 | HARD-SHELL CAPSULE WITH INFLUX PREVENTION OF GASTRIC FLUIDS | MERCIER, MELISSA S | 1615 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | 42d | Pending | Nov 21, 2023 |
| 18559752 | ANTIMICROBIAL CONTROL FOR GRAINS OR SEEDS DURING MALTING | CHORBAJI, MONZER R | 1799 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 41d | Pending | Nov 08, 2023 |
| 18558976 | COMPOSITIONS CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE BIOSURFACTANT AND AT LEAST ONE SULFONIC OR SULFINIC ACID DERIVATIVE | OLSEN, KAELEIGH ELIZABETH | 1619 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 03, 2023 |
| 18557370 | DESFERRIOXAMINES AND COMPOSITION CONTAINING UV LIGHT PROTECTION FILTERS | KIM, DANIELLE A | 1613 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2023 |
| 18556282 | POLYMER COMPRISING LONG CHAIN HYDROXY ACIDS | NGUYEN, HA S | 1766 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 19, 2023 |
| 18287607 | AMIDOAMINE COMPOSITION AND ADHESIVE COMPOSITION CONTAINING THE SAME | DU, SURBHI M | 1763 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 19, 2023 |
| 18548613 | PRODUCTION OF POLYURETHANE FOAM | BOYLE, KARA BRADY | 1766 | §103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 01, 2023 |
| 18447558 | PRODUCTION OF ALKOXYSILOXANES | STONEHOCKER, VIRGINIA LEE | 1766 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 10, 2023 |
| 18261988 | POLYMERIC ANION-CONDUCTING COMPOUND, ITS PREPARATION AND ITS USE IN ELECTROCHEMISTRY | DU, SURBHI M | 1765 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 18, 2023 |
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Start Free TrialEvonik Operations GmbH has 83 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 31 art units and 68 examiners.
Melissa A Rioja has the most, with 4 of Evonik Operations GmbH's pending office actions.
Mostly Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals (USPTO Tech Center 1600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.