Appeal No. 2000-0894
Application No. 08/437,884
and to treat or prevent cardiovascular disorders. The half lives of these
compounds, in [sic] the order of one day, produce unique, long-lasting
vasodilatory effects.” Id. The specification includes working examples showing
that S-nitroso-immunoglobulin compounds inhibit platelet aggregation and induce
relaxation of smooth muscle. See page 50.
Discussion
1. The obviousness rejection
The examiner rejected all of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, as obvious
in view of the prior art patents of Means, Hawiger, and Loscalzo. The examiner
characterizes Means as teaching “use of nitric oxide moieties conjugated to
proteins and/or albumin as a means of increasing the bioavailability of the nitric
oxide.” Examiner’s Answer, page 3. The examiner cites Hawiger as teaching
“that carrier molecules such as albumin or immunoglobulin may be used to
increase the biological half-life of small molecules (i.e., make the molecules
longer acting . . .).” Id., pages 3-4. The examiner cites Loscalzo as teaching that
“NO was useful for the inhibition of platelet aggregation and vasodilation and
cardiovascular disorders.” Id., page 4. He concludes that
[o]ne of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made
would have been motivated to conjugate nitric oxide to
immunoglobulins because the resulting immunoconjugate would
increase the plasma half-life of the nitric oxide moiety thereby
increasing its therapeutic efficacy. . . . From the teachings of the
references, it is apparent that one of ordinary skill in the art would
have had a reasonable expectation of success in producing the
claimed invention. Therefore, the invention as a whole is [sic,
would have been] prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the
art at the time the invention was made.
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