Appeal No. 94-3007
Application 07/809,039
forms,” i.e., the L or D isomers. However, we find that the
compounds of Claim 30 and Claim 31 are more than just optical
isomers of the A-21978C cyclic peptides described in Debono.
They are position isomers.
The examiner next states (Examiner’s Answer, sentence
bridging pages 7-8), “[A]t col. 13, lines 12-25 Debono
suggests cis and trans configuration albeit for the chiral
alkenyl group attached to the N-terminus of an amino acid.”
However, appellants argue that prior art suggestions that the
structural configuration of the side chains of the cyclic
peptide rings of antibacterial agents may be changed without
affecting their antibacterial activity would not have
suggested to persons skilled in the art that changes in the
size and structural configuration of the cyclic peptide rings
of the same compounds can also be made without affecting their
antibacterial activity or utility as intermediates to
compounds displaying antibacterial activity (Appellants’
Brief, page 8; Reply Brief, pages 1-3). Appellants back their
arguments by reference to the history of vancomycin
(Appellants’ Brief, pages 5-8; Reply Brief, page 1-3) as
reported in Harris et al., “Structure of the Glycopeptide
Antibiotic Vancomycin, Evidence for an Asparagine Residue in
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