Appeal No. 94-4265
Application 08/035,915
Oida III teaches a method of producing penemve-3-carboxylic acid derivatives in accordance
with the following reaction mechanism:
7 8 9
wherein R can be a hydroxy group, A can be ethylidene, R can be a C -C alkyl group, and R is a
1 5
carboxy protecting group, R can be an alkoxy group, and Y can be a methylene group or sulfur10
atom (Oida III, pp. 4-7). The examiner’s position is that a methylene group (Y) and the sulfur atom4
bridging the carbonyl group and the nitrogen ring in the Oida III compounds (formulae (V-VIII)) are
known structural isosteres, i.e. the methylene group (Y) is interchangeable with the sulfur atom. The
examiner relies on Mead Johnson v. Premo Pharmaceutical Labs, 207 USPQ 820 (D.N.J. 1980) to
support his position.
The examiner appears to hold that Oida III teaches a “Y” as being only a methylene group. However, as4
translated, the reference states on pages 2 and 6 that “Y represents an oxygen atom, sulfur atom, or methylene group.”
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Last modified: November 3, 2007