Appeal No. 1998-2648
Application No. 08/473,888
targeted duplex is required.”). The specification, on the other hand, states that
oligos comprising the recited “synthetic residues” can form triplexes with
sequences that are not purine-rich. See page 6, lines 24-36 (emphasis added):
a major object of the present invention is to provide synthetic
nucleic acid monomers (“residues”), that . . . enables [sic] the third
strand to form a triple -stranded nucleic acid (“triplex”) . . ., wherein
the “target region” to which the third strand binds is of substantially
any base sequence; that is, it need not include a run of a large
number of adjacent purines on one strand.
Thus, the evidence in the record supports Appellants’ position that the
prior art oligos do not meet the limitations of the instant claims. The examiner
has provided no evidence or scientific reasoning in rebuttal, nor has he
suggested a reasonable basis for concluding that the missing limitations would
have been obvious based on the cited reference. Therefore, we reverse the
§ 102(b)/103 rejection.
9
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007