Appeal No. 2006-2575
Application No. 10/025,567
provides “inadequate guidance as to the structure of the ‘colony-forming
immunogen.’”
We note, as argued by the Examiner, that the structure and binding of
proteins to antibodies is highly sensitive to small changes in amino acid
sequences. Nonetheless, a number of prior art references of record
demonstrate that antibodies produced from chicken eggs can effectively bind
to targeted microorganisms in the digestive tract. For example, Tokoro,4
Stolle, and Yokoyama5 disclose the preparation, from chicken eggs, of
antibodies having binding specificity sufficient to inhibit targeted
microorganisms in the digestive tract. (Tokoro, col. 12, line 4, through col.
14, line 17; Stolle, col. 6, ll. 38-46; Yokoyama 388, abstract.)
Therefore, although the sensitivity of protein-antibody interaction
might have led the skilled artisan to conclude that producing antibodies with
adequate binding specificities from chickens is not entirely predictable, the
prior art of record demonstrates that effective antibodies can be produced in
the manner recited in the claims without undue experimentation.
We agree with Appellants that one skilled in the art would have been
able to practice the full scope of the claimed subject matter without undue
experimentation. We therefore reverse the enablement rejection of claims 1,
3, 5-7 and 12-29.
4 Tokoro, U.S. Patent, 5,080,895, issued January 14, 1992.
5 Yokoyama et al., “Oral passive immunization against experimental
salmonellosis in mice using chicken egg yolk antibodies specific for
Salmonella enteritidis and S. typhimurium,” Vaccine, Vol. 16, No. 4,
pp. 388-393 (1998).
12
Page: Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013