Appeal No. 1997-0798
Application 08/128,020
Lim2 et al. (Lim) “Anti-troponin-T monoclonal antibody crossreacts with all muscle
types.” Chemical Abstracts, Vol. 102, No. 7, p. 452, abstract 102:60465q, Feb. 18, 1985
Sevier et al. (Sevier) “Monoclonal Antibodies in Clinical Immunology.” Clinical
Chemistry, Vol. 27, No. 11, pp. 1797-1806, (1981)
Leszyk et al. (Leszyk) “Bovine Cardiac Troponin T: Amino Acid Sequences of the
Two Isoforms.” Biochemistry, Vol 26, pp. 7035-7042 (1987)
Elvin A. Kabat (Kabat) “Basic Principles of Antigen-Antibody Reactions.” Methods
in Enzymology, Vol.70, pp.3 and 31-35, (1980).
Claims 1 through 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 20 throug h 22, 24, and 26 through 32 stand
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). As evidence of obviousness the examiner relies
upon Cummins, Gahlmann, Lim, Sevier, and Leszyk. Claims 4, 6, and 11 stand
rejected under this section of the statue on the basis of the same evidence and Kabat.
We reverse.
BACKGROUND
Troponin is a regulatory structural protein found in muscle tissue. Specification,
page 1. Troponin consists of three different proteins, troponin C, troponin I, and
troponin T. Id. Appellants explain in the paragraph bridging pages 2-3 of the
specification that troponin I is found in blood plasma after severe ischaemia or muscle
cell necrosis and thus is a parameter for diagnosing and monitoring those events.
However, a disadvantage of using troponin I for this purpose is that normal serum
contains a concentration of the protein. In addition the increase in troponin I reaches its
“absolute diagnostic sensitivity” during the 10th to 50th hour after the occurrence of an
2 This reference is an abstract of an article authored by Lim et al. (Lim). Appellants attached a full text
copy of the Lim article to the Appeal Brief. Our consideration of the issues in this appeal has been based
upon the full text article.
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