Appeal No. 2002-0796 Page 3
Application No. 09/110,994
BACKGROUND
The invention, as set forth in the specification, is generally directed “to a
method for the identification of the molecular targets for drugs or toxins in an
organism or other biological system.” Id. at 1. As part of the “Background of the
Invention,” the specification explains that it was known that a drug or toxin
expresses its activity by binding to proteins, and that a drug may bind to a protein
other than its desired target, which may give rise to unexpected or undesired side
effects or toxicities. The specification states that the “[i]dentification of secondary
targets, the interaction with which leads to side effects, may aid initial
toxicological evaluations on humans by identifying potential biological systems to
monitor, aiding in the interpretation of observed adverse effects, or providing
information that could be used to counteract these effects.” Id. at 1.
The method of the claimed invention
is directed to a process for the identification of a protein which
binds to a ligand, the ligand having a molecular weight which is less
than 5,000 Daltons and being other than a peptide or protein. In
the process, the ligand is screened against a library of peptides or
proteins each of which is displayed on the surface of a genetic
package that contains the corresponding nucleic acid sequence to
identify the members of the library which have an affinity for the
ligand which is greater than the affinity possessed by other
members of the library. Each member of this peptide or protein
library is physically linked to a nucleic acid polymer which encodes
that member by a genetic packages [sic], which also allows the
peptide or protein to interact with the ligand. Those members of the
library which have an affinity for the ligand which is greater than the
affinity possessed by other members of the library are separated
from the library and the nucleic acid sequences which
encode these members are determined and translated into peptide
sequences or consensus peptide sequences. Proteins which
contain the peptide sequences or which correspond to the
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