Ex Parte Fleischner - Page 7

                  Appeal 2007-1615                                                                                         
                  Application 10/693,442                                                                                   

                  losing weight when orally administered” (Answer 5), and contends that                                    
                  “[t]he adjustment of particular conventional working conditions - e.g.,                                  
                  determining appropriate, suitable time periods and intervals for orally                                  
                  administering [ ] a Hoodia gordonii weight-loss product - is deemed merely                               
                  a matter of . . . routine optimization which is well within the purview of the                           
                  skilled artisan, especially given that the skilled dietary artisan would clearly                         
                  take into account the amount of weight an overweight/obese subject needs to                              
                  lose and administer such a weight-loss product accordingly - e.g., on a                                  
                  commonly-employed once or more daily basis for an extended period of                                     
                  time (as instantly claimed) so as to achieve a desired amount of weight                                  
                  loss/reduction in the . . . subject” (id. at 5-6).                                                       
                         We agree with the Examiner.  All of the references relied on by the                               
                  Examiner discuss the appetite suppressive effect of the Hoodia plant and its                             
                  extracts, and Tulp, Habeck, and Van Heerden, at the very least, teach that                               
                  Hoodia’s appetite suppressive effect facilitates weight loss in animals,                                 
                  including humans (in the case of Habeck).  In addition, Van Heerden                                      
                  provides evidence that the appetite suppressive effect of Hoodia is                                      
                  temporary, and the appetite rebounds shortly after administration is ended;                              
                  thus, one skilled in the art would have found it obvious to continue                                     
                  administration for an extended period of time.  Habeck also provides                                     
                  evidence that it would have been obvious for those skilled in the art to                                 
                  administer Hoodia for longer periods of time than those used in the clinical                             
                  trials, since “obesity is a chronic relapsing problem and you need a treatment                           
                  that is going to work safely and effectively over a long period of time”                                 
                  (Habeck 281).  Habeck additionally provides evidence that it would have                                  


                                                            7                                                              

Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  Next

Last modified: September 9, 2013