Appeal No. 2000-0893 Page 10
Application No. 08/392,407
antibodies produced is dependent upon exactly what hapten is used and that is
not readily predictable.” Specifically, the examiner finds (id.), Janda teach
“catalytic antibodies were raised against hapten (1) and … found that substrates
with the greatest homology to the [sic] hapten (2 and 3) were not hydrolyzed by
the antibody, whereas substrates that had less homology to the hapten (4-6)
were hydrolyzed. Similarly, the examiner finds (Answer, pages 5-6), “[i]n Schultz
catalytic antibodies made using a mixture of diastereomers of a hapten (I)
catalyzed the cleavage of the D diastereomer of a homologous substrate (II) but
not the L diastereomer, even though the hapten used was a mixture of both
diastereomers.”
In view of this evidence, the examiner concludes (Answer, page 6) “that
due to the unpredictability of the catalytic antibody art and the fact that not one
example of an operable catalytic antibody is contained in the instant
specification, the instant claimed invention would require undue
experimentation….” In response appellants find (Reply Brief, pages 8-9) that
Schultz and Schechter, which is cited by Schultz, demonstrate that:
one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably predict that a
mixture of enantiomers would necessarily yield a mixture of
antibodies which are preferentially specific for the D-isomer.
Therefore, one would also predict that those catalytic antibodies
identified would be active against the D-isomer rather than the L-
isomer. This is, in fact, what Schultz found. Given Schechter’s
observations, one would reasonably predict that an enantiomeric
mixture of haptens would preferentially produce catalytic antibodies
that stereospecifically catalyze the conversion of the D-isomer in an
enantiomeric mixture.
Similarly, appellants find (Reply Brief, pages 9-10) that “Janda shows how
one can control the reaction catalyzed by considering the different elements
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