Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Chemistry & Materials • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
8 pending office actions • 4 art units • 8 examiners • 0 of 8 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 5 patents granted in the last 365 days
Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. Kgaa is currently navigating 6 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are distributed across 3 distinct art units, suggesting that while the technology is related, the applications are being reviewed by multiple specialized groups. This requires a strategy that can adapt to the different procedural expectations of these 3 distinct art units.
The portfolio involves 6 distinct examiners, meaning each pending action is being handled by a different individual. CHHAY, BONIRATH is the busiest examiner with 1 busiest examiner pending action. Because the 6 pending office actions are spread across so many individuals, the company must manage a wide variety of examiner preferences. This high ratio of 6 distinct examiners ensures that no particular examiner's perspective dominates the company's overall prosecution outcomes across the various art units. Practitioners must coordinate across multiple examiners to maintain consistency in the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering portfolio.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 2 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
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 | 2 (25%) |
| §103 only | 1 (12%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (12%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 4 (50%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHHAY, BONIRATH | 1 | 83.3% | +0.0% |
| BOATENG, AFUA BAMFOAA | 1 | 46.6% | +64.4% |
| FAN, LYNN Y | 1 | 47.3% | +49.5% |
| PONTON, JAMES D | 1 | 79.9% | +32.7% |
| ALDARONDO, DASIA ALI | 1 | 0.0% | +0.0% |
| PURDY, KYLE A | 1 | 41.0% | +35.9% |
| PRICE, NATHAN R | 1 | 53.4% | +38.9% |
| GOUGH, TIFFANY MAUREEN | 1 | 31.6% | +46.8% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 6 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18620513 | COMPOSITION COMPRISING BOTULINUM TOXIN | FAN, LYNN Y | 34d |
| 18841985 | USE OF BOTULINUM TOXIN FOR REDUCTION OF SKIN PORE SIZE AND SEBUM PRODUCTION | CHHAY, BONIRATH | — |
| 18838546 | LIQUID BOTULINUM TOXIN FORMULATION AND USE THEREOF | BOATENG, AFUA BAMFOAA | — |
| 18292312 | SYRINGE BARREL WITH VARYING SILICONE LAYER THICKNESSES, SYRINGE COMPRISING SAME AND USES THEREOF | PONTON, JAMES D | — |
| 18573732 | CROSS-LINKING POLYSACCHARIDE WITH FIBROIN AND USES OF THE OBTAINED MATERIAL | ALDARONDO, DASIA ALI | — |
| 18043663 | PLUNGER AND FINGER GRIP FOR A SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, METHOD FOR MAKING THEM, SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, KIT AND USE OF THE SAME | PRICE, NATHAN R | — |
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 6 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17431997 | NOVEL USES OF BOTULINUM NEUROTOXIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF TREMOR | GOUGH, TIFFANY MAUREEN | 44d overdue |
| 18620513 | COMPOSITION COMPRISING BOTULINUM TOXIN | FAN, LYNN Y | 34d |
| 18838546 | LIQUID BOTULINUM TOXIN FORMULATION AND USE THEREOF | BOATENG, AFUA BAMFOAA | — |
| 18292312 | SYRINGE BARREL WITH VARYING SILICONE LAYER THICKNESSES, SYRINGE COMPRISING SAME AND USES THEREOF | PONTON, JAMES D | — |
| 18178041 | COMPOSITION FOR IMPROVING THE APPEARANCE OF AGEING SKIN | PURDY, KYLE A | — |
| 18043663 | PLUNGER AND FINGER GRIP FOR A SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, METHOD FOR MAKING THEM, SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, KIT AND USE OF THE SAME | PRICE, NATHAN R | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3783 | 2 |
| 1759 | 1 |
| 1611 | 1 |
| 1651 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18841985 | USE OF BOTULINUM TOXIN FOR REDUCTION OF SKIN PORE SIZE AND SEBUM PRODUCTION | CHHAY, BONIRATH | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18838546 | LIQUID BOTULINUM TOXIN FORMULATION AND USE THEREOF | BOATENG, AFUA BAMFOAA | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 14, 2024 |
| 18620513 | COMPOSITION COMPRISING BOTULINUM TOXIN | FAN, LYNN Y | 1759 | §101§103Other | Final Rejection | 34d | Pending | Mar 28, 2024 |
| 18292312 | SYRINGE BARREL WITH VARYING SILICONE LAYER THICKNESSES, SYRINGE COMPRISING SAME AND USES THEREOF | PONTON, JAMES D | 3783 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 25, 2024 |
| 18573732 | CROSS-LINKING POLYSACCHARIDE WITH FIBROIN AND USES OF THE OBTAINED MATERIAL | ALDARONDO, DASIA ALI | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 22, 2023 |
| 18178041 | COMPOSITION FOR IMPROVING THE APPEARANCE OF AGEING SKIN | PURDY, KYLE A | 1611 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 03, 2023 |
| 18043663 | PLUNGER AND FINGER GRIP FOR A SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, METHOD FOR MAKING THEM, SYRINGE ASSEMBLY, KIT AND USE OF THE SAME | PRICE, NATHAN R | 3783 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 01, 2023 |
| 17431997 | NOVEL USES OF BOTULINUM NEUROTOXIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF TREMOR | GOUGH, TIFFANY MAUREEN | 1651 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 44d overdue | Pending | Aug 18, 2021 |
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