Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
17 pending office actions • 13 art units • 17 examiners • 0 of 17 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 10 patents granted in the last 365 days
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute currently manages 18 pending office actions within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These matters are distributed among 18 distinct examiners, which indicates that every single pending action is being reviewed by a different official. This distribution shows a lack of examiner concentration, as the 18 pending office actions are spread across 18 different individuals. Practitioners must be prepared to navigate 18 unique examination styles and interpretations of the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals standards.
The portfolio is spread across 14 distinct art units, reflecting a very broad technical footprint for the institute. This high number of 14 distinct art units means that the institute's innovations are being evaluated by many different specialized administrative groups within the USPTO. Janice Ezvi Vaz is identified as the busiest examiner for this portfolio, although she only manages 1 pending office action. This confirms that no single examiner has a larger share of the 18 pending office actions than any other official mentioned in the data.
Managing 18 pending office actions across 18 distinct examiners and 14 distinct art units presents a significant administrative challenge. The breadth of 14 art units suggests that the subject matter is technically diverse, while the involvement of 18 distinct examiners requires a highly flexible prosecution approach. Applicants should focus on maintaining consistency in their arguments across these 14 different administrative silos to ensure a cohesive strategy for the entire Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals portfolio. The 1 pending office action under Janice Ezvi Vaz is one of many separate dialogues.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 7 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. 7 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 | 1 (6%) |
| §103 only | 5 (29%) |
| §102 only | 2 (12%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 4 (24%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 5 (29%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAZ, JANICE EZVI | 1 | 77.0% | +18.5% |
| SAMSELL, RILLA MARIE | 1 | 70.8% | +4.6% |
| O DELL, DAVID K | 1 | 57.7% | +36.0% |
| MELCHIOR, JAMES RYLAND | 1 | 63.0% | +38.5% |
| HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | 1 | 51.4% | +45.0% |
| HILL, GRACELYN MARKHAM | 1 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| WILSON, MICHAEL C | 1 | 41.5% | +17.9% |
| STEELE, AMBER D | 1 | 58.9% | +9.3% |
| HOWARD, ZACHARY C | 1 | 64.0% | +37.9% |
| YOO, SUN JAE | 1 | 71.1% | +0.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17312855 | Models and Methods Useful for the Treatment of Serrated Colorectal Cancer | HOLTZMAN, KATHERINE ANN | 46d overdue |
| 18290749 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR INHIBITING HUMAN BLOOD PROTEIN VITRONECTIN | MELCHIOR, JAMES RYLAND | — |
| 18273686 | SARS-COV-2 THERAPEUTICS | HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | — |
| 18327715 | MICROSCOPIC IMAGING AND ANALYSES OF EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE | HILL, GRACELYN MARKHAM | — |
| 18325745 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR HAIR FOLLICLE GENERATION | WILSON, MICHAEL C | — |
| 17997757 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR INDUCTION OF ANTITUMOR IMMUNITY | STONEBRAKER, ALYSSA RAE | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18156984 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR CANCER TREATMENT BY INHIBITION OF FBXO44 | HOWARD, ZACHARY C | 34d |
| 19002503 | MACHINE-LEARNING SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING DISORDERS AND DISEASES AND DETERMINING DRUG RESPONSIVENESS | VAZ, JANICE EZVI | — |
| 18696213 | INHIBITORS OF SERINE/THREONINE PROTEIN KINASE STK3 OR STK4 AND USES THEREOF | O DELL, DAVID K | — |
| 18290749 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR INHIBITING HUMAN BLOOD PROTEIN VITRONECTIN | MELCHIOR, JAMES RYLAND | — |
| 18273686 | SARS-COV-2 THERAPEUTICS | HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | — |
| 18325745 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR HAIR FOLLICLE GENERATION | WILSON, MICHAEL C | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1621 | 2 |
| 1627 | 1 |
| 1656 | 1 |
| 1638 | 1 |
| 1658 | 1 |
| 1674 | 1 |
| 1642 | 1 |
| 1651 | 1 |
| 1623 | 1 |
| 1624 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19002503 | MACHINE-LEARNING SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING DISORDERS AND DISEASES AND DETERMINING DRUG RESPONSIVENESS | VAZ, JANICE EZVI | — | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 26, 2024 |
| 18775510 | USES AND METHODS FOR PROMOTING INCREASED MITOCHONDRIAL MASS AND FUNCTION | SAMSELL, RILLA MARIE | — | §102§103§112DPOther | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2024 |
| 18696213 | INHIBITORS OF SERINE/THREONINE PROTEIN KINASE STK3 OR STK4 AND USES THEREOF | O DELL, DAVID K | 1621 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 27, 2024 |
| 18290749 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR INHIBITING HUMAN BLOOD PROTEIN VITRONECTIN | MELCHIOR, JAMES RYLAND | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 19, 2024 |
| 18273686 | SARS-COV-2 THERAPEUTICS | HERNANDEZ, JACKSON J | 1627 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18327715 | MICROSCOPIC IMAGING AND ANALYSES OF EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE | HILL, GRACELYN MARKHAM | 1656 | §101§102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 01, 2023 |
| 18325745 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR HAIR FOLLICLE GENERATION | WILSON, MICHAEL C | 1638 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 30, 2023 |
| 18172116 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TREATING DISEASES | STEELE, AMBER D | 1658 | §103§112DPOther | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 21, 2023 |
| 18156984 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR CANCER TREATMENT BY INHIBITION OF FBXO44 | HOWARD, ZACHARY C | 1674 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Jan 19, 2023 |
| 17928468 | ENHANCERS OF PARTICULATE GUANYLYL CYCLASE RECEPTOR A | YOO, SUN JAE | 1621 | §102 | Final Rejection | 26d overdue | Pending | Nov 29, 2022 |
| 17997757 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR INDUCTION OF ANTITUMOR IMMUNITY | STONEBRAKER, ALYSSA RAE | 1642 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 02, 2022 |
| 17906818 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TREATING SERRATED COLORECTAL CANCER | CLARKE, TRENT R | 1651 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | 42d overdue | Pending | Sep 20, 2022 |
| 17799641 | MONO AND COMBINATION THERAPIES WITH ULK1/2 INHIBITORS | LEE, WILLIAM Y | 1623 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | 145d overdue | Pending | Aug 12, 2022 |
| 17799639 | INHIBITORS OF ULK1/2 AND METHODS OF USING SAME | MCDOWELL, BRIAN E | 1624 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 29d | Pending | Aug 12, 2022 |
| 17773775 | METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF IMMUNE CELLS TO ENHANCE THE EFFICACY OF PROPHYLACTIC AND THERAPEUTIC VACCINES | RICCI, CRAIG D | 1611 | §103 | Final Rejection | 97d overdue | Pending | May 02, 2022 |
| 17510887 | NOVEL BIOMOLECULE CONJUGATES AND USES THEREFOR | CESARE, JOSEPH DAVID | 1600 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2021 |
| 17312855 | Models and Methods Useful for the Treatment of Serrated Colorectal Cancer | HOLTZMAN, KATHERINE ANN | 1646 | §103§112Other | Final Rejection | 46d overdue | Pending | Jun 10, 2021 |
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