Appeal No. 96-3861
Application 08/114,251
The examiner does not, however, establish that unpredictability in this art extends to
the specific type of compounds claimed. The claimed compounds are naphthyl or biphenyl
sulfonamides having a diazine group attached to the nitrogen atom of the sulfonamide. On
this record, the examiner has not furnished evidence casting doubt on the truth or accuracy
of Appellant's statement that those compounds are useful for treating hypertension. On the
contrary, the prior art relied on by the examiner seems to indicate that compounds of the
type claimed are predictably effective. See the second paragraph, last sentence of Stein,
which states:
Proof that ET [endothelin] is a causative agent [of diseases] has remained
elusive, but the recent discovery of ET receptor antagonists will surely
remedy this situation. (emphasis added)
In the ensuing paragraph, Stein refers to a number of endothelin antagonists including "N-
pyrimidinylbenzenesulfonamides" recently discovered by Clozel. Note in particular that
compound Ro 46-2005 of Clozel, like the claimed compounds, is an aromatic sulfonamide
having a diazine group attached to the nitrogen atom of the sulfonamide. According to
Clozel, Ro 46-2005 is "the first orally active endothelin receptor antagonist."
For the reasons set forth in the body of this opinion, we believe that: (1) the
examiner has not provided adequate evidence casting doubt on the truth or accuracy of
Appellant's statement in the specification that all of the claimed compounds are useful for
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