Appeal No. 2000-2269 Page 3
Application No. 08/862,337
[S]uitable antigen binding proteins [e.g., antibodies] are . . .
combined with a degenerate pool of nucleic acid species. . . .
The pool may be formed of DNA molecules or RNA molecules,
with pools of RNA molecules currently preferred. . . . Each
nucleic acid species in the pool includes a degenerate segment
of nucleotides . . . in which each degenerate nucleotide position
is randomly assigned. . . .
Combining the anti-peptide antigen binding protein with the
degenerate pool may be facilitated by immobilizing the antigen
binding protein on a solid support and contacting the degenerate
pool . . . to the solid support. . . .
Typically, . . . the step of combining the degenerate pool with the
antigen binding protein is followed by the step of separating nucleic
acid species bound to said solid support (e.g., by washing away
any unbound nucleic acid species, then eluting nucleic acid species
bound to the solid support); then producing a pool of
complementary nucleic acids from said nucleic acid species
separated from said solid support (e.g., reverse transcribing a pool
of cDNAs from a DNA or RNA pool), then amplifying the pool of
complementary nucleic acids to produce a subset degenerate pool
of nucleic acid species. . . . This sequence of steps may be
cyclically repeated to produce numerous subset degenerate pools.
Specification, pages 10-12.
Discussion
According to Appellants, the claims stand or fall in two groups: product
claims 26-34 stand or fall together and the remaining claims (directed to
methods) stand or fall together. Appeal Brief, page 5. Therefore, we will limit our
consideration to claims 1 and 26. Claim 1 is directed to the disclosed process of
producing nucleic acid mimetics for non-nucleic acid immunogens; i.e., a process
of producing a nucleic acid that is “immunologically cross-reactive with an
immunogen,” by combining an antigen-binding protein with a degenerate pool of
nucleic acids, and recovering a nucleic acid that binds the antigen-binding protein
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007