Appeal No. 2007-0054
Application No. 08/846,722
therapeutic agents “prior to, after and/or with the inflammatory mediator
(col. 8, lines 13-18).” (Answer 4.) In addition, the Examiner argues that
“Geria teaches that oxymetazoline is known for the treatment of rhinitis and
sinusitis, particularly with the congestion associated therewith (col. 4,
lines 1-15).” (Answer 5.) The Examiner concludes that the skilled artisan
would have been motivated to include oxymetazoline with the inflammatory
mediator to provide congestion relief, as well as reduce the inflammatory
response, in patients suffering from sinusitis or rhinitis. (Answer 6.) We
conclude that the Examiner has set forth a prima facie case that claim 18
would have been obvious.
Appellants argue that the combination of Katz and Amschler does not
provide a “method for treating a disease state in mammals caused by
mammalian nasal and sinus cells involved in the inflammatory response,” as
recited in claim 1, and that Geria does not overcome this deficiency.
(Br. 11.) However, for the reasons discussed above, we conclude that
claim 1 would have been obvious in view of Katz and Amschler. Appellants
have not rebutted the Examiner’s prima facie case that claim 18 would have
been obvious. We therefore affirm the rejection of claim 18 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103.
4. CLAIMS 27-30
Claims 27-30 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over
Katz in view of Amschler and Picciano.4 We will focus on claim 27.
The Examiner argues that “the combined references render a method
of treating sinusitis with inflammatory modulator [sic, mediator]
4 Picciano, U.S. Patent No. 5,897,872, issued April 27, 1999.
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