Appeal No. 2004-0902 Page 3
Application No. 09/780,060
A crystalline phase, as defined by the specification, is “a physical state in
which membrane lipids are organised [sic] on a lattice and have extremely
reduced lateral and rotational mobility compared to the fluid arrangement of
other mammalian cellular membranes. . . . For purposes of this invention, a
crystalline phase formulation is defined where 70% or more of lipids by mass are
in a crystalline phase.” Id. at 4.
The specification teaches that:
Application to the skin results in a rapid series of changes to
the composition, all or some of which are responsible for inducing
the phase transition of the lamellar arrangement. These changes
include pH change, drying, packing and pressure changes, ionic
strength change, temperature change; fusion of liposomes in close
proximity; all of these changes may influence hydration state of the
composition. All or some of these changes drive conversion from
the non-crystalline phase to the crystalline phase. The process
proceeds rapidly (at approximately the speed that water evaporates
from the skin), leaves little or no “oily” or unsatisfactory feel to skin,
and provides a long lasting trans-epidermal water-loss barrier.
Id. at 9.
DISCUSSION
1. Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e)
Claims 1-3, 6-9 and 14-19 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as
being anticipated by Kawada. The rejection is set forth below.
Kawada [ ] teach[es] skin treatment compositions containing
a liquid crystal phase containing a combination of a compound from
a ceramide family, cholesterol and a fatty acid (e.g. palmitic acid) in
the claimed proportions. See col. 1, lines 5-10; col. 15,
Compositions 26 and 27. The lipid compositions of Kawada [ ] may
be mixed with water. See col. 5, lines 9-15’ col. 15, Compositions
26 and 27. With respect to Claims 6, 7 and 15, when the
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