Appeal No. 1996-0944
Application No. 08/181,259
to prevent agglomeration and lubricate parts of the valve (page 1706, col. 2, pentultimate para.);
supplying antibacterial agents as dispersions or suspension, i.e., particulate aerosols (page 1706, col. 2,
para. 4); and, emulsifiers, including glycols and glycol derivatives (page 1707, col. 1, para. 5). Parenti
discloses the conventionality of micronized particulate antibacterial agents in pharmaceuticals (col. 6,
lines 3-10). Therefore, it would have been both obvious and within the ordinary skill in the art to
provide a vaginal foam composition in a conventional aluminum container lined with a conventional
epoxy/phenolic resin and having a conventional (fluorinated) hydrocarbon propellant to provide a
conventionally presented particulate (i.e., micronized) antibacterial agent in a conventional carrier
comprising emulsifiers and lubricants as suggested by Parenti, Remington and Curtis-Prior. Selection of
component amounts and particle sizes would have been a matter of routine optimization within the
ordinary skill in the art.
CONCLUSION
To summarize, the decision of the examiner to reject claims 24-30 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
unpatentable over Parenti in view of Merck and Remington is reversed. However, (a) claim 24, (b)
claim 30 and (c) claims 25-29 are rejected pursuant to the provisions of 37 C.F.R.
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