Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
44 pending office actions • 24 art units • 39 examiners • 0 of 44 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 56 patents granted in the last 365 days
The United States Department of Health and Human Services manages a large portfolio of 43 pending office actions within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These actions are distributed across 38 distinct examiners and 23 distinct art units. This extensive reach indicates a highly diverse range of pharmaceutical and biological research being prosecuted across many different administrative divisions of the patent office. The involvement of 23 distinct art units highlights the complexity and breadth of the department's intellectual property interests.
The busiest examiner, RAMIREZ, DELIA M, is responsible for 3 busiest examiner pending actions. This leaves the remaining actions from the total of 43 pending office actions to be handled by the other distinct examiners. While RAMIREZ, DELIA M has the highest individual workload, the majority of the 38 distinct examiners are managing a smaller number of actions. This reflects a broad distribution of the department's patent matters, minimizing the impact of any individual examiner on the overall portfolio. For practitioners, the high number of 38 distinct examiners suggests that prosecution strategies must be tailored to a wide variety of individual examiner preferences and art unit practices within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals sector.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 13 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. 13 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 | 4 (9%) |
| §103 only | 9 (20%) |
| §102 only | 2 (5%) |
| §112 only | 8 (18%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 6 (14%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 15 (34%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 3 | 65.1% | +56.3% |
| DAVIS, BRIAN J | 2 | 84.8% | -4.0% |
| GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 2 | 75.0% | +18.8% |
| DONOHUE, SEAN R | 2 | 41.4% | +21.0% |
| COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY | 1 | 74.9% | +15.5% |
| HILL, MYRON G | 1 | 66.2% | +20.6% |
| SPANGLER, JOSEPH RANKIN | 1 | 41.2% | +69.5% |
| ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | 1 | 57.8% | +49.0% |
| CUNNINGCHEN, KATHLEEN MARY | 1 | 61.1% | +62.5% |
| BUCHANAN, BAILEY CHEYENNE | 1 | 42.9% | +57.1% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18042743 | METHODS TO PRODUCE VERY LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS (VLCFA) | DAVIS, BRIAN J | 187d overdue |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18283516 | IMMUNOGENIC COMPOSITIONS | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 26d overdue |
| 17632783 | CANCER DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION | BUCHANAN, BAILEY CHEYENNE | 8d overdue |
| 18271901 | REPLICATION-COMPETENT ADENOVIRUS TYPE 4 SARS-COV-2 VACCINES AND THEIR USE | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 34d |
| 18036112 | ENHANCED ANTIGEN REACTIVITY OF IMMUNE CELLS EXPRESSING A MUTANT NON-SIGNALING CD3 ZETA CHAIN | ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | 36d |
| 18851859 | SYNTHESIS OF DOPAMINE D3 RECEPTOR SELECTIVE ANTAGONISTS/PARTIAL AGONISTS | COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY | — |
| 18720218 | NEXT GENERATION TRANSPOSOSOMES | SPANGLER, JOSEPH RANKIN | — |
| 18570579 | Self-Assembling Nanoparticles Based On Amphiphilic Peptides for Drug Delivery Applications | DAVIS, BRIAN J | — |
| 17793083 | REAL-TIME MONITORING OF IN VIVO FREE RADICAL SCAVENGERS THROUGH HYPERPOLARIZED N-ACETYL CYSTEINE ISOTOPES | DONOHUE, SEAN 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 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18283516 | IMMUNOGENIC COMPOSITIONS | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 26d overdue |
| 17632783 | CANCER DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION | BUCHANAN, BAILEY CHEYENNE | 8d overdue |
| 16450852 | NOVEL CRISPR ENZYMES AND SYSTEMS | RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 9d |
| 16450825 | NOVEL CRISPR ENZYMES AND SYSTEMS | RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 14d |
| 18271901 | REPLICATION-COMPETENT ADENOVIRUS TYPE 4 SARS-COV-2 VACCINES AND THEIR USE | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 34d |
| 18036112 | ENHANCED ANTIGEN REACTIVITY OF IMMUNE CELLS EXPRESSING A MUTANT NON-SIGNALING CD3 ZETA CHAIN | ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | 36d |
| 17793089 | ISOTOPES OF ALPHA KETOGLUTARATE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS AND THEIR USE IN HYPERPOLARIZED IMAGING | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 43d |
| 18851859 | SYNTHESIS OF DOPAMINE D3 RECEPTOR SELECTIVE ANTAGONISTS/PARTIAL AGONISTS | COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1672 | 3 |
| 1652 | 3 |
| 1624 | 2 |
| 1614 | 2 |
| 1636 | 2 |
| 1618 | 2 |
| 1682 | 2 |
| 1699 | 2 |
| 1654 | 2 |
| 1645 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18851859 | SYNTHESIS OF DOPAMINE D3 RECEPTOR SELECTIVE ANTAGONISTS/PARTIAL AGONISTS | COLEMAN, BRENDA LIBBY | 1624 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 27, 2024 |
| 18799179 | CHIMERIC VECTORS | HILL, MYRON G | — | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 09, 2024 |
| 18720218 | NEXT GENERATION TRANSPOSOSOMES | SPANGLER, JOSEPH RANKIN | 1656 | §101§102§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 14, 2024 |
| 18570579 | Self-Assembling Nanoparticles Based On Amphiphilic Peptides for Drug Delivery Applications | DAVIS, BRIAN J | 1614 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 14, 2023 |
| 18283516 | IMMUNOGENIC COMPOSITIONS | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 1672 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 26d overdue | Pending | Sep 22, 2023 |
| 18036112 | ENHANCED ANTIGEN REACTIVITY OF IMMUNE CELLS EXPRESSING A MUTANT NON-SIGNALING CD3 ZETA CHAIN | ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | 1636 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | 36d | Pending | May 09, 2023 |
| 17793083 | REAL-TIME MONITORING OF IN VIVO FREE RADICAL SCAVENGERS THROUGH HYPERPOLARIZED N-ACETYL CYSTEINE ISOTOPES | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 1618 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 15, 2022 |
| 17793089 | ISOTOPES OF ALPHA KETOGLUTARATE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS AND THEIR USE IN HYPERPOLARIZED IMAGING | DONOHUE, SEAN R | 1618 | §103 | Final Rejection | 43d | Pending | Jul 15, 2022 |
| 17638139 | COMPOSITIONS INCLUDING IGG FC MUTATIONS AND USES THEREOF | CUNNINGCHEN, KATHLEEN MARY | 1646 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 24, 2022 |
| 17632783 | CANCER DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION | BUCHANAN, BAILEY CHEYENNE | 1682 | §101§102§103 | Final Rejection | 8d overdue | Pending | Feb 03, 2022 |
| 17214436 | IMMUNORESPONSIVE CELLS EXPRESSING DOMINANT NEGATIVE FAS AND USES THEREOF | MEYERING, SHABANA SHABBEER | 1635 | §103 | Final Rejection | 56d overdue | Pending | Mar 26, 2021 |
| 17274564 | METHODS FOR DECREASING INFLUENZA-INDUCED LETHALITY USING GASTRIN-RELEASING PEPTIDE (GRP) INHIBITORS OR GASTRIN-RELEASING PEPTIDE RECEPTOR (GRPR) ANTAGONISTS | GAO, ASHLEY HARTMAN | 1678 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 09, 2021 |
| 18836317 | THERMOACOUSTIC SENSOR WITH FLUID MIXING FOR MEASUREMENT OF ACOUSTIC POWER OF ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS OVER A WIDEFREQUENCY RANGE | MERCADO, ALEXANDER A | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2024 |
| 18718766 | BACTERIOPHAGE LAMBDA-VACCINE SYSTEM | GILL, RACHEL B | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 11, 2024 |
| 18704211 | SINGLE DOMAIN ANTIBODIES TARGETING THE S2 SUBUNIT OF SARS-COV-2 SPIKE PROTEIN | ZOU, NIANXIANG | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 24, 2024 |
| 18688126 | MIXED LINEAGE KINASE INHIBITORS AND METHODS OF USE | GONZALEZ, LUISALBERTO | 1624 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 29, 2024 |
| 18410773 | SABRE CATALYSTS CONTAINING FLUORINATED CARBON CHAINS FOR DELIVERY OF METAL-FREE MRI CONTRAST AGENTS | MCCAIG, BRIAN A | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 11, 2024 |
| 18568738 | COMPOUNDS THAT BIND NON-CANONICAL G-QUADRUPLEX STRUCTURES AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THE SAME | FETTEROLF, BRANDON J | 1626 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 16d | Pending | Dec 08, 2023 |
| 18562806 | METHODS TO GENERATE MACULAR, CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIAL CELLS | BERTOGLIO, VALARIE E | 1632 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2023 |
| 18290396 | BIODEGRADABLE TISSUE SCAFFOLD WITH SECONDARY MATRIX TO HOST WEAKLY ADHERENT CELLS | PYLA, EVELYN Y | 1633 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 13, 2023 |
| 18557396 | PREFUSION-STABILIZED LASSA VIRUS GLYCOPROTEIN COMPLEX AND ITS USE | CORNELIUS, CLAIRE ADRIENNE | 1672 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2023 |
| 18235285 | PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS OF HIV INFECTIONS | JARRELL, NOBLE E | 1699 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 17, 2023 |
| 18271901 | REPLICATION-COMPETENT ADENOVIRUS TYPE 4 SARS-COV-2 VACCINES AND THEIR USE | GRIZER, CASSANDRA SENN | 1672 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Jul 12, 2023 |
| 18032132 | HIGH CONCENTRATION METHYLCOBALAMIN OR COMBINATION OF METHYL- AND HYDROXY-COBALAMIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF COBALAMIN C DEFICIENCY DISORDERS | CRAIGO, BAHAR ALAWI | 1699 | §103 | Final Rejection | 44d overdue | Pending | Apr 14, 2023 |
| 18020191 | IGG4 HINGE-CONTAINING CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTORS TARGETING GLYPICAN-1 (GPC1) FOR TREATING SOLID TUMORS | BENAVIDES, JENNIFER ANN | 1675 | §103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 07, 2023 |
| 17923394 | ABERRANT POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS (PTMS) IN METHYL- AND PROPIONIC ACIDEMIA AND A MUTANT SIRTUIN (SIRT) TO METABOLIZE PTMS | BOWLES, DAVID PAUL | 1654 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 13d | Pending | Nov 04, 2022 |
| 17929415 | NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS IMMUNOGENIC COMPOSITIONS | DEVI, SARVAMANGALA | 1645 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 02, 2022 |
| 18705869 | USE OF CARBOXYPEPTIDASE E/NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR-ALPHA1 TO TREAT NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE | BARRON, SEAN C | 1653 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 29, 2024 |
| 18262779 | Imidazo[1,2- a]pyrazine and Imidazo[1,2- a]pyridine Based Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase I (TDP1) Inhibitors | SEITZ, ANTHONY JOSEPH | 1629 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 25, 2023 |
| 18627191 | COMPOUNDS FOR TREATING OR PREVENTING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE | OLSON, ANDREA STEFFEL | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 04, 2024 |
| 18697168 | NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE METHODS OF DETERMINING HOMEOSTATIC PERTURBATIONS | XU, XIAOYUN | — | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 29, 2024 |
| 18568661 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING RESPONSIVENESS TO IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS (ICI), INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF ICI, AND TREATING CANCER | DICKENS, AMELIA NICOLE | 1645 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 08, 2023 |
| 18042743 | METHODS TO PRODUCE VERY LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS (VLCFA) | DAVIS, BRIAN J | 1614 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 187d overdue | Pending | Feb 23, 2023 |
| 18605198 | VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLE CONJUGATES FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF TUMORS | HIBBERT, CATHERINE S | — | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 14, 2024 |
| 17277397 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR MODULATION OF LMNA EXPRESSION | DACE DENITO, ALEXANDRA GERALDINE | 1636 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 18, 2021 |
| 18572462 | SHORT APOC-II MIMETIC PEPTIDES AND METHODS OF USE | DABKOWSKI, ERINNE R | 1654 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2023 |
| 18287630 | HUMAN INSULIN C-ALPHA-PEPTIDES AND METHODS OF USE | LEE, JIA-HAI | 1658 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 19, 2023 |
| 18480306 | NK CELLS OR T CELLS EXPRESSING CHIMERIC HEMATOPOIETIC GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTORS AND METHODS OF USE | PAULUS, ERIN VIRGINIA | 1631 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 03, 2023 |
| 18036392 | SINGLE-CELL PROFILING OF CHROMATIN OCCUPANCY AND RNA SEQUENCING | GRAY, JESSICA | 1682 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 10, 2023 |
| 18035240 | MODIFIED NK CELLS WITH REDUCED CCR5 EXPRESSION AND METHODS OF THEIR USE | QIAN, CELINE X | 1637 | §103 | Final Rejection | 13d | Pending | May 03, 2023 |
| 17904573 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PREDICTING RATES OF PROGRESSION OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION | WOITACH, JOSEPH T | 1687 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 18, 2022 |
| 16450825 | NOVEL CRISPR ENZYMES AND SYSTEMS | RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 1652 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 14d | Pending | Jun 24, 2019 |
| 16450699 | NOVEL CRISPR ENZYMES AND SYSTEMS | RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 1652 | §112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 24, 2019 |
| 16450852 | NOVEL CRISPR ENZYMES AND SYSTEMS | RAMIREZ, DELIA M | 1652 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 9d | Pending | Jun 24, 2019 |
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