Appeal No. 2006-3200 Page 5
Application No. 10/196,428
argument (id.), by administering a composition comprising a HMG-CoA
reductase inhibitor, such as pravastatin, and a pharmactutically acceptable
additive, to a subject suffering from rheumatoid arthritis as is suggested by the
prior art, PTX3 gene expression will be reduced.
In response Appellants assert that Chao’s “compositions are a proverbial
snake oil capable of preventing and/or treating virtually everything from
Alzheimer's disease to vasculitis, in particular by targeting the HMG-CoA
reductase.” Brief, page 5. According to Appellants (id.), Chao provides no
evidence that the composition would suppress PTX3 gene expression or prevent
or treat any disorder other than atherosclerotic diseases. Accordingly, Appellants
assert that Chao fails to motivate a person of ordinary skill in the art to select
rheumatoid arthritis from the list of disorders that can be treated. Brief, page 6.
We disagree.
Notwithstanding Appellants assertions to the contrary, as discussed above
Chao teaches that rheumatoid arthritis can be treated by administering a
composition comprising a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. Chao’s exemplification
of a disorder other than rheumatoid arthritis does not detract from this express
teaching. According to Chao (page 13), “[t]he term ‘patient’ is intended herein to
mean human patients who take an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor in combination
with an ACAT inhibitor for any of the uses described herein.” We remind
Appellants that “all of the relevant teachings of the cited references must be
considered in determining what they fairly teach to one having ordinary skill in the
art.” In re Mercier, 515 F.2d 1161, 1165, 185 USPQ 774, 778 (CCPA 1975).
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