Appeal No. 2003-1794 Page 2
Application No. 09/804,969
The examiner does not rely on any references.
Claims 8 and 10 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §§ 101 and 112, first
paragraph, as lacking utility.
We affirm.
Background
“Phospholipases hydrolyze phospholipids and can play a key role in the
cell activation and signal transduction. As such, phospholipases have been
associated with, inter alia, development, inflammation, infectious disease, and
cancer.” Page 1. The specification discloses nine “human polynucleotides
encoding proteins sharing sequence similarity with mammalian phospholipases.”
Id. Somewhat more specifically, “[t]he novel human proteins (NHPs) described
[in the specification] . . . share structural similarity with animal phospholipases,
including phospholipase C delta-4.” Id., pages 1-2.
The specification does not disclose the degree of similarity shared by any
of the disclosed polynucleotides with any specific animal or mammalian
phospholipase gene, nor does it disclose the physiological role of any of the
encoded proteins. Nevertheless, the specification discloses that
the NHP products can be used as therapeutics. For example,
soluble derivatives . . . can be used to directly treat disease or
disorders. . . . Nucleotide constructs encoding such NHP products
can be used to genetically engineer host cells to express such
products in vivo; these genetically engineer[ed] host cells function
as “bioreactors” in the body delivering a continuous supply of a
NHP. . . . Nucleotide constructs encoding functional NHPs, mutant
NHPs, as well as antisense and ribozyme molecules can also be
used in “gene therapy”.
Pages 14-15.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007