Appeal No. 1996-0826
Application No. 08/271,583
Belding discloses that the components of the peroxidase (MPO or lactoperoxidase)-halide
(iodide, bromide or chloride)-hydrogen peroxide system present in mammalian tissues and extracellular
fluids have antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity (page 195, col. 1; page 196, col. 1, first full
para.).
Kanofsky suggests that the singlet oxygen produced by the peroxidase-halide-hydrogen
peroxide system is responsible for the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of this system (page 5991,
col. 1, para. 1). Clark states that the hydrogen peroxide component of the peroxidase-hydrogen
peroxide-MPO system could be replaced by a peroxide-generating system, e.g., glucose and glucose
oxidase, or by a peroxide-producing bacteria, e.g., pneumococci or streptococci (abstract printout).
The examiner acknowledges that the references fail to disclose the selective nature of the
peroxidase-halide-hydrogen peroxide system, but asserts that such selectivity is either an inherent
feature of the system or would have been obvious in view of the teachings of Hasegawa (answer, pages
5 and 9). Hasegawa found that a composition comprising MPO and an alkali metal halide in a specific
ratio, even in the absence of hydrogen peroxide, can be an effective antimicrobial pharmaceutical
composition against microorganisms with diminished or no catalase synthesizing activity (page 1, lines
65-73; page 2, line 104 - page 3, line 11).
Here, all of the claims on appeal require “selectively killing the pathogenic microbes while not
eliminating the normal flora of the animal.” Although “[a]ppellant’s claims utilize the same ingredients (a
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