Appeal 2007-0913 Application 09/888,126 FACTS The Examiner rejected claims 1, 3-18, 20-39, and 41-60 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being obvious over Patton in view of Edwards (Office Action mailed August 11, 2004, 2).2 The Examiner relies on Patton for teaching the systemic delivery of insulin to a mammalian host through the inhalation of a dry powder that is rapidly absorbed through the alveolar regions of the lung (Office Action dated August 11, 2004, 2). The dry powder containing insulin is prepared by dissolving insulin in an aqueous buffer to form a solution and then spray drying the solution to produce substantially amorphous particles (id.). According to the Examiner, the pharmaceutical carrier, which may be an amino acid such as glycine, lysine, etc., may be optionally dissolved in the buffer, typically a citrate buffer such as sodium citrate, to form a homogenous solution, “wherein spray drying of the solution produces individual particles comprising insulin, carrier buffer and any other compounds which were preset in the solution.” (Id. at 2-3.) Patton is also cited for teaching that dry powders of insulin that may be used include amorphous insulin, crystalline insulin, and mixtures thereof (id. at 2). The insulin concentration may range from 5 to 95%, preferably from 20 to 80%, with the carrier material ranging from 5 to 95% (id. at 3). The Examiner notes that “Patton, while teaching amino acids as carriers, lacks disclosure on DPPC.” (Id.) 2 Claims 1, 3-18, 20-39, and 41-60 also stood rejected under the judicially created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over the claims of copending 10/179,463 in view of Patton (Office Action mailed August 11, 2004, 5). The rejection was withdrawn in the Answer upon the filing of a terminal disclaimer (Answer 5). 3Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
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