Appeal No. 2006-0819 Page 2
Application No. 09/929,862
Claim 5 is drawn to “[a] method for slowing the progression of atherosclerotic
plaques, causing the regression of atherosclerotic plaques or managing cardiac
risk, or treating atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, HDL elevation or angina in a
mammal in need of therapeutic treatment comprising administering to said
mammal a therapeutically effective amount” of the composition of claim 1.
Claims 1, 4, 5 and 8-14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
obvious over the combination of Deninno2 and Roth.3 After careful review of the
record and consideration of the issue before us, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
According to the specification, “[t]he conversion of 3-hydroxy-3-
methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) to mevalonate is an early and rate-
limiting step in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. This step is catalyzed by
the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase. Statins inhibit HMG-CoA reductase from
catalyzing this conversion. As such, statins are lipid lowering agents.” Id. at 1.
Atorvastatin calcium, currently sold as LipitorŪ, is one such statin. See id. at 2.
Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) transfers cholesteryl ester and
triglyceride between lipoprotein particles, including high density lipoproteins
(HDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), and
chylomicrons. See id. at 4. CETP activity results in lowering HDL cholesterol,
increasing LDL cholesterol, and is believed to be pro-atherogenic. See id.
[2R, 4S]4-[(3,5-Bis-trifluoromethyl-benzyl)-methoxycarbonyl-
amino]-2-ethyl-6-trifluoromethyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-quinoline-1-
2 Deninno et al. (Deninno), WO 00/17164, published March 30, 2000.
3 Roth, U.S. Patent No. 4,681,893, issued July 21, 1987.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007