Appeal No. 2005-0410
Application No. 09/902,461
interval”3 refers to administration intervals which will vary depending on the needs of the
individual; i.e., depending on the nature and extent of the disease’s effects. Id.,
lines 20-26. The intervals are said to be determined by standard clinical techniques.
Id., line 29.
Thus, in our view, one skilled in the art would have understood, if not from the
“ordinary and accustomed meaning” of the words themselves, then certainly from the
teachings of the specification, that the periodic administration of human acid "-
glucosidase “need not be a fixed interval, but can be varied over time, depending on the
needs of the individual.” Specification, p. 10, lines 1-3. That is, such person would
have understood the claimed “periodically at an administrative interval” to mean “as
needed” by the patient and as determined by a professional caretaker.
II. Anticipation
The examiner argues that Fuller discloses that a recombinant precursor form of
human acid "-glucosidase is administered to a patient to treat Pompe disease. Answer,
p. 4. The examiner contends that
. . . since the enzyme is being administered to an individual that it is inherent to
that individual that they would suffer from the types of diseases claimed in claims
2-4 since the individuals are not defined in claim 1 as suffering from those
specific types of diseases. As stated in Fuller, the claimed enzyme can be
3 We point out that the contested term “periodically” does not stand alone in the
claims. Rather, it is part of the phrase “periodically at an administrative interval.”
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