Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026

Cermak & Mcgowan LLP

Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Chemistry & Materials

31 pending office actions • 21 clients • 29 examiners • 16 art units • 0 of 31 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready

Analysis

Cermak & McGowan LLP manages 2648 career applications in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. The firm has 19 pending office actions and a resolved allowance rate of 82.95 percent.

The average of 3.8 office actions per allowance provides a measure of the effort required to reach a patent grant. This statistic is useful for practitioners when budgeting for the prosecution phase. The 82.95 percent allowance rate, combined with the 3.8 average office actions, offers a data-grounded perspective on the firm's historical performance in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Quality Metrics (n=2648 apps, methodology: how we score firms)

83.0%
Allowance Rate
n=2648
+0.70σ
Allowance Rate (norm)
n=2648
3.8
OAs to Allowance
n=1829
+0.09σ
OAs to Allow (norm)
n=1829
1200 days
Time to Allowance
n=1829
+10.3pp
Interview Lift
n=2648
25.7%
RCE Rate
n=2648
3.8%
Appeal Rate
n=2648

Rejection Performance (% of received rejections ultimately overcome)

75.2%
§101 Overcome
n=141
79.4%
§102 Overcome
n=839
81.3%
§103 Overcome
n=1294
83.0%
§112 Overcome
n=1213

Specialization & Scale

C12P, C12N, A61K
Top CPC Subclasses
18%
Top-3 CPC Share
n=2648
1
Practitioners
n=2648
2648.0
Apps / Practitioner
n=2648

Portfolio Summary

31
Total Pending OAs
22
Non-Final OAs
9
Final Rejections
0
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 11 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

7
Overdue
0
Due this week
2
Due this month
1
Due in next 60 days
1
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

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. 11 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (7)Due ≤ 30 days (2)Due ≤ 60 days (1)Due later (1)

Case Difficulty Mix

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.

18
Hard (58%)
12
Medium (39%)
1
Easy (3%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other2 (6%)
§103 only4 (13%)
§102 only1 (3%)
§112 only1 (3%)
Double-patenting + other7 (23%)
Multi-statute (no §101)16 (52%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

21
Life Sciences
68% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
0
Mechanical / Eng
0% of docket
10
Business / Other
32% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

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.

310 h
Manual time on pending OAs
62 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
108 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
2.7 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
KIM, BRYAN 3 28.4% +36.8%
ELOSHWAY, NIKI MARINA 1 63.5% +24.6%
ALAM, AYAAN A 1 38.4% +35.6%
MOAZZAMI, NAGHMEH NINA 1 72.0% +49.3%
BEHARRY, ZANNA MARIA 1 24.7% +56.4%
CANDELARIA, JULIANA IRENE 1 0.0% +0.0%
MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN 1 88.9% +5.8%
STRANSKY, KATRINA MARIE 1 74.2% +24.5%
HOFFMAN, SUSAN COE 1 54.2% +25.6%
BARRON, SEAN C 1 52.9% +30.9%

Quick Wins (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 #TitleExaminerDue in
18734393 Method for Producing Protein MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN —

Hard Cases (19)

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 #TitleExaminerDue in
17799466 A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A BAKED PRODUCT WITHOUT ADDITION OF SUGAR TRAN, LIEN THUY 73d overdue
17193141 Consumable Product Comprising Malted Wheat KIM, BRYAN 31d overdue
17999081 Use of SAA, rSAA or inhibitors of SAA in the treatment of dysregulated inflammation JUEDES, AMY E 17d overdue
18250643 Anti-Microbial Skin-Care Composition Comprising Beta-Glucan and Natural Oil WEBB, WALTER E 15d overdue
18065167 METHOD FOR INDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS TOLERANCE IN PLANTS HIRT, ERIN E 12d
18558029 A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING A PROTEIN-RICH BIOMASS COMPRISNG EDIBLE FILAMENTOUS FUNGUS KIM, BRYAN 42d
19112410 Mounting element for panels and method for fastening panels to a support structure ELOSHWAY, NIKI MARINA —
18836116 Method for Inducing Differentiation from Pluripotent Stem Cell to Epidermal Keratinocyte BEHARRY, ZANNA MARIA —

Interview Candidates (10)

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 #TitleExaminerDue in
17193141 Consumable Product Comprising Malted Wheat KIM, BRYAN 31d overdue
18558029 A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING A PROTEIN-RICH BIOMASS COMPRISNG EDIBLE FILAMENTOUS FUNGUS KIM, BRYAN 42d
19112410 Mounting element for panels and method for fastening panels to a support structure ELOSHWAY, NIKI MARINA —
18937758 Multi-Functional Cleaning and/or Debridement Composition ALAM, AYAAN A —
18904277 Method for Preparing a Three-Dimensional Scaffold for Medical Use MOAZZAMI, NAGHMEH NINA —
18836116 Method for Inducing Differentiation from Pluripotent Stem Cell to Epidermal Keratinocyte BEHARRY, ZANNA MARIA —
18705215 A PLA-COLLAGEN SCAFFOLD FOR MEDICAL USE LOADED WITH CELLS STRANSKY, KATRINA MARIE —
18702300 Composition for Promoting the Assimilation of an Oligosaccharide HOFFMAN, SUSAN COE —

Client Portfolio (21 clients)

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
16553
17923
17932
16631
16841
16531
16521
16931
16121
16231

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleClientExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19112410 Mounting element for panels and method for fastening panels to a support structure Dissing A/S ELOSHWAY, NIKI MARINA §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 17, 2025
18937758 Multi-Functional Cleaning and/or Debridement Composition Corticalis AS ALAM, AYAAN A §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 05, 2024
18904277 Method for Preparing a Three-Dimensional Scaffold for Medical Use Askel Heathcare Ltd. MOAZZAMI, NAGHMEH NINA §103DP Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 02, 2024
18836116 Method for Inducing Differentiation from Pluripotent Stem Cell to Epidermal Keratinocyte The Jikei University BEHARRY, ZANNA MARIA §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 06, 2024
18750252 Composition for Culturing Animal Cells Ajinomoto Co., Inc. CANDELARIA, JULIANA IRENE §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 21, 2024
18734393 Method for Producing Protein Ajinomoto Co., Inc. MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN 1663 §112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 05, 2024
18705215 A PLA-COLLAGEN SCAFFOLD FOR MEDICAL USE LOADED WITH CELLS Askel Healthcare Ltd. STRANSKY, KATRINA MARIE §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 26, 2024
18702300 Composition for Promoting the Assimilation of an Oligosaccharide Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. HOFFMAN, SUSAN COE 1655 §101§102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 17, 2024
18631361 BACTERIUM MODIFIED TO EXPRESS HETEROLOGOUS Tat PROTEIN Ajinomoto Co., Inc. BARRON, SEAN C §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 10, 2024
18401960 Method for Secretory Production of Unnatural-Amino-Acid-Containing Protein Ajinomoto Co., Inc. MOEHLMAN, ANDREW TERRY 1655 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 02, 2024
18574224 COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF TREATING PLASMA CELL DISORDERS INCLUDING MULTIPLE MYELOMA WITH A VACCINE COMPOSITION AND MYELOMA-SPECIFIC CAR-T CELLS Meridian Therapeutics, Inc. CUNNINGCHEN, KATHLEEN MARY §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 26, 2023
18574219 A Vaccine Composition for Plasma Cell Disorders Including Multiple Myeloma and Methods to Induce Immunity Using Same Meridian Therapeutics, Inc. WEIDNER, ADAM M §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 26, 2023
18558029 A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING A PROTEIN-RICH BIOMASS COMPRISNG EDIBLE FILAMENTOUS FUNGUS Millow Holding AB KIM, BRYAN 1792 §103§112 Final Rejection 42d Pending Oct 30, 2023
18356516 METHOD FOR SCREENING DIMERIZED CYCLIC PEPTIDE Ajinomoto Co., Inc. PHAM, KHAI QUYNH TIEN 1684 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Jul 21, 2023
18350982 METHOD FOR PRODUCING PHYTOSPHINGOSINE OR PHYTOCERAMIDE Danstar Ferment AG KOROTCHKINA, LIOUBOV G 1653 §103§112DP Non-Final OA 49d overdue Pending Jul 12, 2023
18351225 METHOD FOR PRODUCING PHYTOSPHINGOSINE OR PHYTOCERAMIDE Evolva SA MEAH, MOHAMMAD Y 1652 §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 12, 2023
18270073 JUDGMENT SUPPORTING INFORMATION GENERATING METHOD, JUDGMENT SUPPORTING INFORMATION GENERATING SYSTEM, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE Mcbi Inc. FUELLING, MICHAEL §101§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 28, 2023
18256080 Prebiotic Composition for Butyric Acid Bacteria Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. GALSTER, SAMUEL LEONARD 1693 §102 Final Rejection 70d overdue Pending Jun 06, 2023
18250643 Anti-Microbial Skin-Care Composition Comprising Beta-Glucan and Natural Oil Lantmännen Oats AB WEBB, WALTER E 1612 §103§112 Final Rejection 15d overdue Pending Apr 26, 2023
18246797 Use of Antcin H and Its Derivatives for Treating Central Nervous System Diseases Alps Biotech Co., Ltd. LEE, WILLIAM Y 1623 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 27, 2023
18170671 PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION COMPRISING MODIFIED NATURAL KILLER CELLS AND ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC T CELLS, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University GRABER, JAMES J 1631 §102§112DP Final Rejection 12d Pending Feb 17, 2023
18152377 Novel Asphalt Binder Additive Compositions and Methods of Use Collaborative Aggregates, LLC MERKLING, SALLY ANNE 1738 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 10, 2023
18065167 METHOD FOR INDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS TOLERANCE IN PLANTS Ajinomoto Co., Inc. HIRT, ERIN E 1616 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA 12d Pending Dec 13, 2022
17999081 Use of SAA, rSAA or inhibitors of SAA in the treatment of dysregulated inflammation Lika Antisepsis Gbr JUEDES, AMY E 1644 §103§112 Final Rejection 17d overdue Pending Nov 17, 2022
17998559 DRUG CONJUGATES CONTAINING ALPHA-ENOLASE ANTIBODIES AND USES THEREOF Hunilife Biotechnology, Inc. HAQ, SHAFIQUL 1678 §103 Final Rejection 72d Pending Nov 11, 2022
18048519 Method For Producing Soy Sauce-Like Seasoning Ajinomoto Co., Inc. MCCLAIN, TYNESHA L. 1793 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 21, 2022
17910175 A Consumable Product Comprising Malted Cereals for Promoting Recovery at Physical Activity LANTMÄNNEN FUNCTIONAL FOODS AB FIEBIG, RUSSELL G 1655 §103 Non-Final OA 35d overdue Pending Sep 08, 2022
17799466 A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A BAKED PRODUCT WITHOUT ADDITION OF SUGAR Lantmännen Unibake Holding A/S TRAN, LIEN THUY 1793 §103§112 Non-Final OA 73d overdue Pending Aug 12, 2022
17563532 METHOD OF TREATING GLIOBLASTOMA Lantmännen As-Faktor AB FISCHER, JOSEPH 1658 §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 28, 2021
17193141 Consumable Product Comprising Malted Wheat LANTMÄNNEN FUNCTIONAL FOODS AB KIM, BRYAN 1792 §103 Final Rejection 31d overdue Pending Mar 05, 2021
17193092 Consumable Product Comprising Malted Dehulled Oats LANTMÄNNEN FUNCTIONAL FOODS AB KIM, BRYAN 1792 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Mar 05, 2021

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