Appeal No. 2000-0643
Application 08/273,423
(CCPA 1980)). Moreover, in our view, one skilled in the art would have had a reasonable
expectation that Kligman’s corticosteroids and Bazzano’s all-trans-retinoic acid would
complement each other, as corticosteroids and minoxidil do, inasmuch as Bazzano
suggests that all-trans-retinoic acid and minoxidil have similar effects on hair cycle
dynamics.
The matter does not end here, however. As stated in In re Hedges, 783 F.2d 1038,
1039, 228 USPQ 685, 686 (Fed. Cir. 1986):
If a prima facie case is made in the first instance, and if the applicant comes
forward with reasonable rebuttal, whether buttressed by experiment, prior art
references, or argument, the entire merits of the matter are to be reweighed.
In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468, 1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
Appellant argues that “experimental evidence . . . encompassing two double blind
studies unequivocally shows the unexpected results of Applicant’s claimed . . . method to
treat alopecia.” Brief, page 12. The results of the two double blind studies, in which a
corticosteroid and a vitamin A derivative were administered together, are reported and
analyzed in the declarations of Drs. Alan H. Greenspan and Jules T. Mitchel. The
declarants concluded that the results “are suggestive of treatment efficacy,”3 i.e., that the
combination “display[s] a favorable trend toward hair growth for patients diagnosed with . .
. male pattern baldness, and is potentially effective in the treatment of male pattern
3 Declaration of Alan H. Greenspan, M.D., executed March 18, 1997 (page 5,
paragraph 21).
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