Appeal No. 2006-2415 Page 4
Application No. 09/410,336
Claim 34 requires the coupled compound used for detecting the cells to be
delivered by non-percutaneous cannulation or catheterization of the breast duct.
2. Obviousness of claims 33 and 36-39
The examiner has rejected claims 33 and 36-39 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
obvious in view of Yoshimoto,1 Schmitt-Willich,2 and Canto.3 The examiner cites
Yoshimoto as teaching “a method for diagnosing a primary lesion of breast cancer cells
and assessing its spread within the breast by magnetic resonance galactography
comprising injecting gadolinium-DTPA directly into a discharging breast duct and
performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast.” Answer, pages 5-6.
The examiner acknowledges that “Yoshimoto et al. does not teach delivering a
compound comprising an identifying agent coupled to a targeting agent.” Id. at page 6.
The examiner relies on Schmitt-Willich to meet the limitation requiring delivery of the
coupled compound to a breast duct.
The examiner points out that Schmitt-Willich discloses detectable gadolinium-
containing polymer complexes that are more stable than gadolinium-DTPA “and provide
marked contrast enhancement of peripheral tumor tissue by nuclear magnetic imaging
for a prolonged period, bringing a marked diagnostic gain; see entire document (e.g.,
column 8, lines 19-26 and lines 44-52).” Id. at page 7. The examiner also points out
that Schmitt-Willich “teaches the gadolinium-containing polymer complexes can be
covalently attached to a biomolecule or a macromolecule” such as a monoclonal
1 Yoshimoto et al., “Magnetic resonance galactography for a patient with nipple discharge,” Breast Cancer
Research and Treatment, Vol. 42, pp. 87-90 (1997).
2 Schmitt-Willich et al., U.S. Patent 5,681,543, issued October 28, 1997.
3 Canto et al., “Methylene blue selectively stains intestinal metaplasia in Barrett’s esophagus,”
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 1-7 (1996).
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