Appeal No. 1997-3330
Application No. 08/271,870
The examiner has not pointed to factual evidence in the cited references as to how
one of ordinary skill in the art would prepare or determine which immunogens can be used
to prepare monoclonal antibodies capable of distinguishing between mycophenolic acid
and mycophenolic esters.
Even if it is assumed, for the sake of argument, that one of ordinary skill in the art
could prepare monoclonal antibodies from hapten conjugates based on the general
methodologies of Erlanger and Brinkley and use them in conventional assays according to
the disclosure of Rose, one of ordinary skill in the art is not provided with sufficient
information to prepare and obtain monoclonal antibodies with the capability of
distinguishing between mycophenolic acid and mycophenolic ester with a reasonable
expectation of success.
Simply put, we find the examiner has not provided the factual support which would
have reasonably suggested modifying the teachings of Nelson to obtain a monoclonal
antibody capable of distinguishing between mycophenolic acid and mycophenolic ester.
The examiner’s inclusion of claims to a kit and to modified cells in the rejection is similarly
flawed.
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