Appeal No. 2001-0665
Application 08/439,920
Deliberations
Our deliberations in this matter have included evaluation and review of the following
materials: (1) the instant specification, including all of the claims on appeal; (2) applicants’
Appeal Brief; (3) the Examiner’s Answer; and (4) the above-cited references.
On consideration of the record, including the above-listed materials, we reverse the
examiner’s rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Discussion
The examiner argues that Holton discloses every feature of appellants’ claimed
intermediate except for appellants’ 1-methyl-1-methoxyethoxy group at the 20 position on
the C-13 sidechain. The examiner points out that Holton discloses a “hydroxy protecting
group,” generically, at that position, as well as specific protecting groups such as alkyl,
methoxymethyl, ethoxyethyl, benzyloxymethyl, trimethylsilyl, and triethylsilyl. The examiner
also refers to Holton’s disclosure at column 6, lines 31 through 35 that
A variety of protecting groups for the hydroxyl group and the synthesis
thereof may be found in “Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis” by T.
W. Green, John Wiley and Sons, 1981.
With respect to the ancillary reference, Greene, the examiner argues that this
reference discloses the art-recognized equivalence of a number of hydroxy protecting
groups, including, inter alia, methyl, methoxymethyl, ethoxyethyl, benzyloxymethyl,
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007