Appeal No. 2006-2471 Page 2
Application No. 09/824,364
treating atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease are
well documented. In fact, it is not uncommon that patients having elevated cholesterol
levels who are at high risk for a myocardial infarction take both a statin and aspirin.
However, use of both a statin and aspirin may require special care to insure that drug
interaction, including physical and chemical incompatibility, and side effects, are kept to
a minimum while achieving maximum benefit from these drugs.” Specification, page 1,
lines 14-25. The application provides pharmaceutical compositions to reduce the
interaction of aspirin with the statin.
Discussion
Claim construction
Claims 36, 38-40, and 42-47 are on appeal. The claims stand or fall together
because Appellants did not provide separate reasons for patentability of any of the
claims. We select claim 46, the only independent claim, as representative.
46. A method for lowering serum cholesterol or inhibiting or treating
atherosclerosis or reducing risk of or treating a cardiovascular event or
disease, coronary artery disease or cerebrovascular disease, which
comprises administering to a patient in need of treatment a therapeutically
effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a
combination of a statin cholesterol lowering agent and aspirin in a single
dosage form, which dosage form reduces interaction between the statin
and the aspirin, wherein the pharmaceutical composition is in the form of a
tablet or capsule containing both aspirin granules and statin granules.
The claim requires administering statin and aspirin in a “single dosage form.”
The application discloses tablets and capsules as examples of a single dosage form,
where both statin and aspirin are present in the same unit. Specification, page 2, line
34-page 3, line 1-page 5, line 35.
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