Appeal No. 2003-1743 Page 3
Application No. 09/540,205
1. A composition comprising a non-racemic mixture of l-methadone or a
pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and d-methadone or a pharmaceutically
acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier (emphasis added).
2. A composition according to Claim 1, comprising a non-racemic mixture of an
effective amount of l-methadone or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof to
alleviate somatic pain and an effective amount of d-methadone or a pharmaceutically
acceptable salt thereof to alleviate neuropathic pain, and a pharmaceutically acceptable
carrier (emphasis added).
10. A method for treatment of pain in a subject comprising administering the
composition of Claim 1.
22. A method for treatment of pain in a subject comprising administering a
composition comprising a mixture of an opioid antagonist and dl-methadone or a
pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or l-methadone or a pharmaceutically
acceptable salt thereof to alleviate pain, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
At this juncture, we note that dependent claim 23 recites “A composition
according to Claim 22, wherein the opioid antagonist is naloxone or naltrexone
(emphasis added). Independent claim 22, however, is drawn to a method. It would
appear, therefore, that recitation of a “composition” in dependent claim 23 constitutes an
inadvertent error and that claim 23 should be drawn, instead, to a method. The same
infirmity appears in dependent claim 13. On return of this application to the Examining
Corps, we recommend that applicants and the examiner correct the above-noted
discrepancies in claim format.
The Reference
The prior art reference relied on by the examiner is:
Gorman et al. (Gorman), “The d- and l- isomers of methadone bind to the non-
competitive site on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in rat forebrain and
spinal cord,” Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 223, pp. 5-8 (1997)
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