Appeal No. 1996-0682
Application 08/127,121
1-7 and lines 24-31. To avoid unwanted side effects when
treating psoriasis, appellants state that the concentration of
podophyllotoxin should be kept low, and a preparation
containing about 0.1 weight percent is preferred. See the
specification at page 2, lines 8-15.
As evidence of obviousness of the claimed subject matter
on appeal, the examiner relies on the combined disclosures of
Leander, Makino, Evers, and Jacobsen. Appellants characterize
Leander, the examiner’s “primary reference," as disclosing a
method of treating psoriasis using a podophyllotoxin cream
composition, “but no specific pharmaceutical preparation is
described.” See the specification at page 1, lines 24-27. In
fact, Leander describes a detailed clinical investigation
using creams containing 0.1%, 0.25%, and 0.5% podophyllotoxin
for treatment of 152 patients afflicted with psoriasis
vulgaris which produced “statistically significant
improvements” at all three dosage levels. See Leander at
column 4, line 21 to column
5, line 8. Although the Leander reference does not
specifically describe how the prior art podophyllotoxin creams
were made or the specific ingredients included therein, the
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