Interference 104,002
polynucleotide and amino acid sequences of various clones, including the MN390 clone
(mc13241), is not sufficient to establish an actual reduction to practice. Rather, we find
that Godiska must also demonstrate that its inventors recognized a specific practical
utility for the nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence of the MN390 clone.
We make this finding based on Godiska’s statement that its inventor’s had a
general plan to randomly select and sequence clones from a human macrophage cDNA
library. GB, p. 54, Material Fact 119; GX 1021, p. 95; GX 1012, p. 181. Godiska
further stated that Drs. Gray and Godiska hoped to find novel genes which encoded
proteins important to human immunological processes.6 Id., Material Fact 121
(Dr. Godiska wrote in his notebook that “Pat is seq’ing random MN cDNA to find
interesting genes”). Dr. Godiska is said to have randomly selected approximately 1000
macrophage clones for nucleotide sequencing, one of which was the MN390 clone.
GB, pp. 54-55, Material Fact 122. After sequencing the DNA, deducing the amino acid
sequence, and comparing the MN390 sequence with the sequences in the GenBank
database, Dr. Godiska is said to have (i) noted that clone 390 encodes a “NOVEL
CHEMOKINE”; and (ii) identified similarity between the MN390 sequence and the rat
chemokine MIP-1$ sequence. GB, pp. 59-60, Material Facts 132-133; GX 1012,
p. 181. However, even assuming, arguendo, that Dr. Godiska recognized the
aforementioned characteristics of the polypeptide encoded by the MN390 clone, we
find such information does not establish a specific practical utility for either the
6 Since Godiska’s library was a cDNA library made from cellular mRNA,
manifestly it comprised only those genes which are expressed in a cell.
9
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