Appeal No. 2003-1418 Page 5
Application No. 09/056,707
being directed to a method of treating atopic allergic disease by administering the
proteoglycan chondroitin sulfate, i.e., the intact, high molecular weight
macromolecule consisting of many different glycosaminoglycan chains linked
covalently to a protein core.
Ahmed teaches a method of treating late phase allergic reactions, such as
asthma or allergic rhinitis, by administering “ultra-low molecular weight heparins
(ULMWH) or other sulfated polysaccharides having average molecular weights of
about 1,000-3,000 daltons.” Abstract. With regard to chondroitin sulfate, Ahmed
states that
[w]hile the sulfated polysaccharides used in the method and
compositions of the invention are generally referred to herein as
ultra-low molecular weight heparins, i.e., ultra-low molecular weight
fractions derived from naturally occurring heparin . . ., the invention
may also encompass the use of sulfated polysaccharides derived
from . . . chondroitin sulfate. . . . The subject sulfated
polysaccharide fractions must, however, have an average molecular
weight of about 1,000-3,000 daltons.
Column 10, lines 38-48.
We agree with Appellant that this disclosure would not have suggested the
instantly claimed method. The following passage from Appellant’s brief sums up
the argument well:
The sole reference to proteoglycans other than heparin is found in
col. 10, lines 38-52, in a single sentence in which chondroitin sulfate
among other proteoglycans is mentioned. However, in this same
location is found the statement that the drugs described are derived
from heparin or other proteoglycans, that is to say, they are low
molecular weight sulfated polysaccharides (1,000-3,000 Da) that
have been chemically removed from heparin or other proteoglycans,
and isolated. Such sulfated polysaccharides, by definition, contain
no protein and thus are no longer proteoglycans; they are different
chemical entities. Thus, this reference neither suggests nor
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007