Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
61 pending office actions • 49 art units • 58 examiners • 0 of 61 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 67 patents granted in the last 365 days
Tohoku University has 60 pending office actions in Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals. The matters involve 58 distinct examiners across 49 distinct art units, demonstrating a highly distributed examination footprint. The profile suggests that centralized tracking and technology-based organization are important because examiner-specific patterns will be limited.
HODGES, SUSAN E is the busiest examiner with 2 pending matters. The low concentration means that portfolio management should focus on consistent handling of related biotechnology disclosures and claim themes across separate assignments. Counsel will still need to adapt responses to the particular art unit and examiner in each application.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 16 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. 16 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 | 9 (15%) |
| §103 only | 13 (21%) |
| §102 only | 2 (3%) |
| §112 only | 2 (3%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 2 (3%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 33 (54%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HODGES, SUSAN E | 2 | 67.1% | +13.8% |
| CONNORS, ALEXANDRA F | 2 | 23.7% | +45.5% |
| UNDERDAHL, THANE E | 2 | 58.8% | +50.2% |
| VARMA, ASHISH K | 1 | 74.4% | +32.4% |
| JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | 1 | 87.5% | +21.9% |
| LEE, SHUN K | 1 | 42.6% | +16.4% |
| GREEN, TRACIE Y | 1 | 79.7% | +9.2% |
| BOOSALIS, FANI POLYZOS | 1 | 90.3% | +10.8% |
| PAK, YONG D | 1 | 74.7% | +14.2% |
| NASIR, TAQI R | 1 | 87.4% | +12.6% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18005537 | PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS EFFECTIVE FOR TREATMENT OF MOTOR NEURON DISEASE (MND) | VISONE, THOMAS J | 107d overdue |
| 16314471 | PROPHYLACTIC OR THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR ORGAN FIBROSIS | CONNORS, ALEXANDRA F | 50d overdue |
| 18740839 | Method For Improving Mitochondrial Functions | HUTSON, RICHARD G | 46d overdue |
| 18264520 | PROTEIN FOLDING AGENT | KELLY-O'NEILL, YOLANDA LYNNETTE | 22d overdue |
| 18226882 | COMPOSITION FOR CALCIUM BATTERY ELECTROLYTE, CALCIUM BATTERY ELECTROLYTE, AND CALCIUM BATTERY | APICELLA, KARIE O | 9d overdue |
| 16624081 | A METHOD OF TREATING EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA USING MUSE CELLS | WILSON, MICHAEL C | 12d |
| 17797241 | ANGIOGENESIS DEVICE | UNDERDAHL, THANE E | 14d |
| 18267281 | HIGH-FREQUENCY ENHANCED ELECTROCHEMICAL STRAIN MICROSCOPE AND HIGH-FREQUENCY ENHANCED ELECTROCHEMICAL STRAIN MICROSCOPY USING THE SAME | OSENBAUGH-STEWART, ELIZA W | 47d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16314471 | PROPHYLACTIC OR THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR ORGAN FIBROSIS | CONNORS, ALEXANDRA F | 50d overdue |
| 17797241 | ANGIOGENESIS DEVICE | UNDERDAHL, THANE E | 14d |
| 17797252 | ANGIOGENESIS DEVICE | UNDERDAHL, THANE E | 55d |
| 19168177 | METHOD FOR LEACHING ROCK METAL COMPONENT, METHOD FOR STORING CARBON DIOXIDE UNDERGROUND, AND METHOD FOR FIXING CARBON DIOXIDE | VARMA, ASHISH K | — |
| 19163178 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING CYTOPLASMIC MALE STERILE LINE AND MAINTAINER LINE | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | — |
| 19087566 | SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR AND HOLOGRAPHIC 3D DISPLAY DEVICE | HODGES, SUSAN E | — |
| 19099556 | NOVEL PROMOTER | CONNORS, ALEXANDRA F | — |
| 18998713 | DIAMOND RADIATION DETECTOR | LEE, SHUN K | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1634 | 3 |
| 1652 | 3 |
| 2425 | 2 |
| 2884 | 2 |
| 1784 | 2 |
| 1625 | 2 |
| 1638 | 2 |
| 1675 | 2 |
| 1699 | 2 |
| 1632 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19168177 | METHOD FOR LEACHING ROCK METAL COMPONENT, METHOD FOR STORING CARBON DIOXIDE UNDERGROUND, AND METHOD FOR FIXING CARBON DIOXIDE | VARMA, ASHISH K | 3674 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 23, 2025 |
| 19163178 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING CYTOPLASMIC MALE STERILE LINE AND MAINTAINER LINE | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | 1662 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 08, 2025 |
| 19087566 | SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR AND HOLOGRAPHIC 3D DISPLAY DEVICE | HODGES, SUSAN E | 2425 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 23, 2025 |
| 19099556 | NOVEL PROMOTER | CONNORS, ALEXANDRA F | 1634 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 29, 2025 |
| 18998713 | DIAMOND RADIATION DETECTOR | LEE, SHUN K | 2884 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 27, 2025 |
| 18713890 | LIQUID CRYSTAL ALIGNMENT MEMBER FOR SPATIAL LIGHT PHASE MODULATION, SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATION ELEMENT AND STEREOSCOPIC DISPLAY DEVICE | GREEN, TRACIE Y | 2875 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 16, 2024 |
| 18976294 | INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, DISPLAY DEVICE, RADIATION THERAPY PLANNING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM | BOOSALIS, FANI POLYZOS | 2884 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 10, 2024 |
| 18871999 | IMAGE SENSOR AND METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME | HODGES, SUSAN E | 2425 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2024 |
| 18870994 | ANTIVIRAL AGENT, PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION FOR TREATING OR PREVENTING VIRAL INFECTION, KIT FOR EVALUATING RISK OF VIRAL INFECTION BECOMING SEVERE, AND METHOD FOR EVALUATING RISK OF VIRAL INFECTION BECOMING SEVERE | PAK, YONG D | 1652 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 02, 2024 |
| 18958802 | Magnetic Permeability Measurement Probe and Magnetic Permeability Measurement Device Using the Probe | NASIR, TAQI R | 2858 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18860067 | INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM | FERRER, JEDIDIAH P | 2153 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 25, 2024 |
| 18915895 | FILM-COVERED TRANSPARENT BASE PLATE AND TOP PLATE FOR COOKING DEVICE | COLGAN, LAUREN ROBINSON | 1784 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18855544 | SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL AND MULTILAYER SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL | MINSKEY, JACOB T | 1748 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 09, 2024 |
| 18851916 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE | QUINTO, KEVIN V | 2893 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 27, 2024 |
| 18849223 | CONTROL DEVICE, CODEBOOK GENERATION DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, CODEBOOK GENERATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM | CHEN, ZHITONG | 2649 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 20, 2024 |
| 18832791 | DIRECT-CURRENT LIMITER AND DIRECT-CURRENT INTERRUPTION SYSTEM | TRAN, NGUYEN | 2838 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18847375 | ANTENNA DEVICE | PATEL, AMAL A | 2845 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 16, 2024 |
| 18842641 | METAL SILICIDE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME, ALLOY MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME, HEATING ELEMENT, AND ELECTRIC RESISTOR | WANG, XIAOBEI | 1784 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 29, 2024 |
| 18840716 | METHOD FOR RECYCLING CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLID CARBIDE | FIORITO, JAMES A | 1731 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 18832446 | THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR CANCER | OH, TAYLOR V | 1625 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 23, 2024 |
| 18721258 | FILM-ATTACHED TRANSPARENT SUBSTRATE, TOP PLATE FOR COOKER, WINDOW GLASS FOR HEAT COOKER, AND COVER GLASS | KIM, RICHARD H | 2871 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 18, 2024 |
| 18740839 | Method For Improving Mitochondrial Functions | HUTSON, RICHARD G | 1652 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | 46d overdue | Pending | Jun 12, 2024 |
| 18659445 | ANGIOGENESIS MATERIAL, BONE-REGENERATION-PROMOTING MATERIAL, METHOD FOR PRODUCING ANGIOGENESIS MATERIAL, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING BONE-REGENERATION-PROMOTING MATERIAL | JOHNSON, DANIELLE D | 1617 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 09, 2024 |
| 18700612 | PLANT DISEASE RESISTANCE INDUCING METHOD, PLANT DISEASE RESISTANCE INDUCING DEVICE, AND PLANT DISEASE RESISTANCE INDUCING AGENT | PURDY, KYLE A | 1611 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 83d | Pending | Apr 11, 2024 |
| 18697374 | Metal Oxide having Spinel-Type Crystal Structure, Method for Producing Same, Carbon Dioxide Reduction Method, and Carbon Dioxide Reduction Apparatus | HAILEY, PATRICIA L | 1732 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 29, 2024 |
| 18612441 | TREATMENT AGENT FOR HAIR DAMAGE | MARVICH, MARIA | 1634 | §102§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 21, 2024 |
| 18692976 | Method for Promoting Production of Exopolysaccharide by Bifidobacterium Bacteria | EPSTEIN, TODD MATTHEW | 1652 | §101§102§112 | Final Rejection | 75d | Pending | Mar 18, 2024 |
| 18682573 | ENDOMETRIAL MODEL, METHOD FOR PREPARING ENDOMETRIAL MODEL, AND ENDOMETRIAL IMPLANTATION MODEL | JACKSON III, WALTER | 1638 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 09, 2024 |
| 18539931 | AGENT FOR ANTI-AGING OR FOR CELLULAR REJUVENATION | BORALSKY, LUKE ALAN | 1624 | §102§103§112Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 14, 2023 |
| 18567945 | ELECTROMAGNETIC ABSORBER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME | KOSLOW, CAROL M | 1734 | §112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 07, 2023 |
| 18565568 | LIQUID DRUG TRANSPORT DEVICE, LIQUID DRUG TRANSPORT SYSTEM, AND LIQUID DRUG TRANSPORT METHOD | GRAY, PHILLIP A | 3783 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 30, 2023 |
| 18551979 | HARDNESS CALCULATION DEVICE, HARDNESS MEASUREMENT DEVICE, AND HARDNESS CALCULATION METHOD | XU, JUSTIN | 3791 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 71d | Pending | Sep 22, 2023 |
| 18282145 | SINGULAR MATERIAL DETECTION APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM | WECHSELBERGER, ALFRED H. | 2187 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 14, 2023 |
| 18279506 | RECOMMENDATION DATA GENERATION APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM | BONSHOCK, DENNIS G | 3992 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 30, 2023 |
| 18278800 | ORAL CANCER DETECTION KIT, USE OF REAGENT, REAGENT, ORAL CANCER DETECTION DEVICE, INFORMATION ACQUISITION METHOD, AND PROGRAM | SALMON, KATHERINE D | 1682 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 24, 2023 |
| 18276314 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING ALKALI METAL/ALKALINE EARTH METAL HYDROXIDE AND APPLICATION OF SAID PRODUCTION METHOD TO CARBOXYLATE WASTE RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY | CARR, DEBORAH D | 1691 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 08, 2023 |
| 18264520 | PROTEIN FOLDING AGENT | KELLY-O'NEILL, YOLANDA LYNNETTE | 1692 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 22d overdue | Pending | Aug 07, 2023 |
| 18276129 | IMPLANTATION DEVICE | YU, HONG | 1614 | §102§103§112Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2023 |
| 18226882 | COMPOSITION FOR CALCIUM BATTERY ELECTROLYTE, CALCIUM BATTERY ELECTROLYTE, AND CALCIUM BATTERY | APICELLA, KARIE O | 1725 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 9d overdue | Pending | Jul 27, 2023 |
| 18262562 | COMPLEX, VASCULAR CONTRAST AGENT, X-RAY CONTRAST AGENT, METHOD FOR PRODUCING COMPLEX, AND IMAGING METHOD FOR CAPTURING STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN VESSEL | MEJIAS, SAMANTHA LEE | 1618 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18269846 | CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM USING MULTICOLOR LIGHT-EMITTING CELLS | ALLEN, SARAH ELIZABETH | 1637 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 27, 2023 |
| 18267281 | HIGH-FREQUENCY ENHANCED ELECTROCHEMICAL STRAIN MICROSCOPE AND HIGH-FREQUENCY ENHANCED ELECTROCHEMICAL STRAIN MICROSCOPY USING THE SAME | OSENBAUGH-STEWART, ELIZA W | 2881 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 47d | Pending | Jun 14, 2023 |
| 18039741 | HIGH-ORDER HARMONIC OBSERVATION DEVICE AND HIGH-ORDER HARMONIC OBSERVATION METHOD | REVERMAN, CHAD ANDREW | 2877 | §103 | Final Rejection | 36d | Pending | Jun 01, 2023 |
| 18203279 | SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICES WITH HIGH VELOCITY HIGHER-ORDER MODE | GANNON, LEVI | 2849 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 30, 2023 |
| 18034661 | THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR COVID-19 | KOSAR, ANDREW D | 1625 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 28, 2023 |
| 18033215 | HIGH-SPEED NANO MIST, PRODUCTION METHOD AND PRODUCTION DEVICE, PROCESSING METHOD AND PROCESSING DEVICE, AND MEASUREMENT METHOD AND MEASUREMENT DEVICE FOR SAME | KALIHER, HANS CHRISTIAN | 3781 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 15d overdue | Pending | Apr 21, 2023 |
| 18017039 | DEVICE FOR PREDICTING MUTATION OF VIRUS, METHOD FOR PREDICTING MUTATION OF VIRUS, AND PROGRAM | GRAFF, SHARON LEVINE | 1687 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 19, 2023 |
| 18005537 | PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS EFFECTIVE FOR TREATMENT OF MOTOR NEURON DISEASE (MND) | VISONE, THOMAS J | 1672 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 107d overdue | Pending | Jan 13, 2023 |
| 18002650 | ELECTROLYTE, SECONDARY CELL, AND COMPOSITE MATERIAL | GRANNUM, VERITA EUDORA EBUN | 1721 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2022 |
| 17920461 | DUOCARMYCIN DERIVATIVE AND USE THEREOF | VAN DRUFF, SYDNEY | 1643 | §103 | Final Rejection | 30d | Pending | Dec 09, 2022 |
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Start Free TrialTohoku University has 61 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 49 art units and 58 examiners.
Susan E Hodges has the most, with 2 of Tohoku University's pending office actions.
Mostly Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals (USPTO Tech Center 1600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
