Appeal No. 2000-0643
Application 08/273,423
Claim 15, directed to a “method of treatment for hair restoration” comprising
administering a corticosteroid and a Vitamin A derivative to hairless skin, stands rejected
as unpatentable over Kligman, Bazzano and Lesnik.
Bazzano teaches that topical application of all-trans-retinoic acid alters the hair-
growth cycle in the C3H mouse model by prolonging the anagen phase and shortening the
telogen phase. According to the reference, “[t]his effect is similar to the effect of minoxidil
on the hair cycle dynamics in this animal model.” Abstract.
Kligman discloses a method of treating alopecia (hair loss) comprising topical
application of a composition comprising minoxidil and a corticosteroid to affected areas of
the human scalp. According to Kligman, the method prevents the “chronic inflammatory
process, subtending to the hair bulbs, in patterned alopecia, [which] lead[s] to eventual
scarring of the lower follicle, making regrowth impossible.” Abstract, and the paragraph
bridging columns 3 and 4. In addition, we note that Kligman reports that “[t]he use of
retinoids alone or in combination with minoxidil . . . to increase hair growth” is known.
Paragraph bridging columns 2 and 3.
We agree with the examiner that it would have been obvious for one skilled in the
art “to employ corticosteroids and all-trans-retinoic acid together in a single hair loss
treatment since each was known separately for the same purpose.” Examiner’s Answer,
page 3. (“[T]he idea of combining them flows logically from their having been individually
taught in the in the prior art.” In re Kerkhoven, 626 F.2d 846, 850, 205 USPQ 1069, 1072
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