throbber
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_____________
`
`GENOME & COMPANY,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO,
`Patent Owner.
`_____________
`
`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`_____________
`
`Record of Oral Hearing
`Held: January 15, 2020
`
`_____________
`
`
`Before SHERIDAN K. SNEDDEN, SUSAN L.C. MITCHELL, and
`JOHN E. SCHNEIDER, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`APPEARANCES:
`
`ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER:
`
`
`JOHN A. BAUER, ESQUIRE
`MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS GLOVESY AND POPEO, P.C.
`701 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW,
`Suite 900
`WASHINGTON, DC 20004
`202-434-7399
`
`
`
`ON BEHALF OF THE PATENT OWNER:
`
`
`SCOTT E. KAMHOLTZ
`COVINGTON & BURLING LLP
`ONE CITYCENTER
`850 10TH STREET, NW
`WASHINGTON, DC 200001
`202-662-5339
`
`
`
`
`The above-entitled matter came on for hearing on Wednesday,
`January 15, 2020, commencing at 1:00 p.m., at the U.S. Patent &
`Trademark Office, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`2
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`
`
` (Proceedings begin at 1:00 p.m.)
` JUDGE MITCHELL: You may be seated.
` So good afternoon, everyone. We have a final
`hearing this afternoon in PGR2019-00002. I am Judge Mitchell,
`and seated to my left is Judge Snedden, and with us by video
`conference, is Judge Schneider.
` I would like to get appearances for the parties on
`the record. So who do we have for Petitioner?
` MR. BAUER: Good afternoon, Judge. My name is John
`Bauer. I'm here for Petitioner, lead counsel. I'm also here
`with Andrew Schultz and I'm also here with Kongsik Kim, and
`we're from the law firm of Nelson Mullins.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Hi.
` MR. BAUER: And we filed the case. How -- myself
`and Kongsik's subordinates.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: All right. Thank you and welcome.
` MR. BAUER: Thank you.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: And who do we have for Patent
`Owner?
` MR. KAMHOLTZ: Scott Kamholtz, lead counsel for
`Patent Owner. I'm joined by Jennifer Robbins, patent
`consultant.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: All right. Thank you and welcome.
` We certainly set forth our procedure for how we're
`going to handle the oral hearing today in our order, but I
`
`3
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`just wanted to emphasize a couple of things with you before we
`get started.
` Each of you, as we said in our order, will have one-
`hour total time to present argument per side. And to assist
`Judge Schneider in following along with your argument and for
`the clarity of the record when we go back and take a look, it
`is very important that if you refer to an exhibit, that you
`state the exhibit number and the page number to which you are
`referring. And when you're referring to a demonstrative, that
`you state the slide number.
` Petitioner has the burden of showing the
`unpatentability of the challenged claims and the Petitioner
`will go first, and certainly, may reserve time for rebuttal.
`The Patent Owner will then have the opportunity to present its
`response and may reserve some time for rebuttal also.
` We have reviewed Petitioner's Notice of Objections
`to the Patent Owner's demonstrative exhibits. We're not going
`to exclude any demonstrative at this time, but Petitioner may
`certainly address any objectionable demonstrative in its
`argument if you choose.
` Furthermore, we just wanted to emphasize that
`demonstratives are not evidence and we won't consider them as
`such. They are used for the benefit of those in this room and
`for the benefit of the transcript that will become a part of
`this public record. The panel will distinguish evidence in
`the record from argument appearing in the demonstrative
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`4
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`exhibits and all arguments must be supported by evidence
`already of record and relied on in the briefing. The panel
`will not consider arguments or evidence appearing only in
`demonstrative exhibits.
` So, Petitioner, you are welcome to begin, and would
`you like to reserve time for rebuttal?
` MR. BAUER: Yes, Your Honor. I would like to
`reserve 20 minutes for rebuttal.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: All right. Thank you.
` MR. BAUER: Good afternoon, Judge Mitchell, Judge
`Snedden, Judge Schneider. I represent the Petitioner in this
`case. And may I approach? I have two subsequent
`demonstratives for you.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Certainly.
` MR. BAUER: Basically, just to give some framework
`as to the argument that I'm going to present in the opening.
`First, it will be just a general introduction with respect to
`what the patent is about. And then I'll say a couple of words
`about our expert, Dr. Braun. And then I'll address
`obviousness --
` JUDGE SCHNEIDER: Counsel, I'm sorry. I can barely
`hear you. Could you adjust the microphone a little bit? Just
`--
` MR. BAUER: Is that better, Judge.
` JUDGE SCHNEIDER: Yeah. That's better. Let's see.
` MR. BAUER: I got to be careful with that. Is this
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`5
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`better?
` JUDGE SCHNEIDER: That's much better. Thank you.
` MR. BAUER: Okay. So to repeat, just to give a
`framework as to how I'm going to present the argument today.
`Originally, though, I'll start off with just a brief
`introduction of what the patient is about, some words about
`the qualification of our expert. And then address obviousness
`and then address enablement.
` So the patent is basically a method of treating
`cancer in a human. If we go to now, Demonstrative Slide 3,
`where you can see Claim 1 has been pasted in from Exhibit
`1001. And the claim, basically, has, essentially, three
`elements. It's a method of treating cancer in a human, number
`one. Number two, co-administering an immune checkpoint
`inhibitor. And number three, co-administering the bacteria
`from the genus Bifidobacterium.
` I may, during the hearing, shorten Bifidobacterium
`to be just Bifido. It's easy to pronounce and I just want to
`give the Court -- is that okay with the Court?
` JUDGE MITHCELL: Sure.
` MR. BAUER: Okay. Thank you.
` JUDGE SCHNEIDER: No problem.
` MR. BAUER: So if we take a look -- a closer look at
`the claim, it's a method of treating cancer. And then if we
`go to Demonstrative Slide 4, you can see that the Patentee
`broadly defined cancer in the specification. And you can see
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`6
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`that Exhibit 1001 from Columns 28:54, through 32:44, the
`Patentee listed 165 disorders and 22 broad categories of
`cancer. It's quite broad. It is a long laundry list of the
`cancers that are, supposedly, be able to be treated within the
`scope of the claims.
` If we then turn to Demonstrative Slide 5, that's
`just a continuation of the Patentee's listing of cancers that
`are, allegedly, can be treated by the method of the claimed
`invention.
` If we then go to Slide Number 6, we go to the second
`element of the claim. It's the checkpoint inhibitor. And I
`just want to broadly say -- or briefly say that the immune
`checkpoint inhibitor is broadly defined. If we look at the
`right-hand column in the Petitioner demonstrative at Column 5,
`Lines 14 to 20, it can be a polypeptide or a protein. And it
`just needs to bind to the checkpoint. It also can be an
`interfering nucleic acid.
` I'll come back more to the scope of the checkpoint
`inhibitor when we address enablement, but I just did want to
`say that it's quite broad and it's claimed functionally.
` If we then go to the third element, briefly, it's
`the Bifidobacterium. The Bifido is claimed, once again, quite
`broadly. It's the genus, but Dependent Claim 4 lists 36
`species. And the last one is Bifidobacterium sp, which is a
`yet to be discovered Bifido.
` So we can see that the claim is broad. And if we
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`7
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`then take a look at Slide Number 8, we contrast the broad
`scope of the claims with the disclosure of what's in the '302
`Patent. And we find that the disclosure is quite narrow.
`There's only two cancers of which are treated in the Patent,
`melanoma and bladder. One checkpoint inhibitor, an alphaPD-L1
`antibody.
` And the Bifido there is, basically, some -- a couple
`of experiments in a mouse. One of which is, basically, they
`used the feces of one and transferred it to another. And then
`they analyzed the feces and they said that it had under 16
`SRNA and an increased amount of Bifido.
` And then they have a cocktail of these four
`different species of Bifido. And that's it. So it's a broad
`claim and a narrow spec. And that was acknowledge by the
`Board in their institution decision and the request for
`reconsideration.
` I just want to say -- also, transition to
`Petitioner's expert, Dr. Braun. Patent Order has taken a
`number of shots at Dr. Braun in the Motion to Exclude and also
`in the briefing, reportedly, alleging that Dr. Braun is not
`qualified. I just want to say that, first of all, if we take
`a look at Slide Number 9, that Dr. Braun had a Ph.D. in
`Immunology from Stanford and an M.D. from Harvard Medical
`School.
` And then if we go to Paragraph 7 of Exhibit 1002,
`which is Dr. Braun's expert report, I'm -- or his declaration,
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`8
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`it tells you that from 1991 to 2018, he was the co-Director
`and Director of the Tumor Immunology Program for the UCLA
`Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
` So in terms of the technology at issue in this case,
`the immune checkpoint inhibitors and probiotics, mainly
`Bifidobacterium, it is precisely in Dr. Braun's wheelhouse.
`And if we then go to Slide Number 10, this is basically --
`this is telling the Board that, not only does he have
`experience, but he also has active clinical experience in
`terms of prescribing medications to cancer patients. And
`that's shown in Paragraph 12, where he intimately and is
`regularly involved in phases of management of cancer patients.
` Patent Owner, through precisely narrow questions,
`asked Dr. Braun if he was the one who actually administered
`the checkpoint inhibitor, or he was the one who actually did
`that. That's not Dr. Braun's responsibility. That may be a
`nurse. But it's very clear, if we then turn to Slide Number
`11, that because he's a pathologist.
` And if we go to under his deposition, which is in
`Slide Number 11, the last part of the quote, Exhibit 2078 from
`10:24 to 11:9, he basically says, quote, "So I've been
`regularly involved in all phases of the management of cancer
`patients."
` So there is more, if we go to Slide Number 12, where
`there's additional Braun testimony cited. Exhibit 2078, 34:2
`to 20 and Exhibit 2078, 11:20 to 23, where it shows that Dr.
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`9
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`Braun is involved in the choices and oversees methods of
`treating cancer patients. That's part of his job. So we
`clearly believe that Dr. Braun is highly qualified to opine on
`the subject matter of this case.
` Now --
` JUDGE MITCHELL: So Dr. Braun actually treated
`patients?
` MR. BAUER: Correct.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Okay.
` MR. BAUER: If you look at his -- he oversaw the
`treatment of them.
` JUDGE SCHNEIDER: Well, I think they're also -- I
`think looking at Slide 12 at the bottom there, it said, "I
`have directly prescribed and administered therapy to patients
`to treat cancer, yes."
` MR. BAUER: Yes, that's right.
` So turning to the obviousness part of the case, let
`me just briefly say, sort of, the theme of Petitioner's
`obviousness side of the case. You've got a method of treating
`human cancer, which is as broad as the day is long. And you
`then administer, according to the claim, a checkpoint
`inhibitor and a Bifido.
` What was shown in the prior art is that from the
`checkpoint inhibitor, Korman show that you could use a CPI and
`treat colon cancer or fibrosarcoma. And there's no dispute
`about what the scope of Korman is. In fact, (indiscernible)
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`10
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`makes no allegation that he's an inventor of checkpoint
`inhibitors.
` The second element of the claim is, basically, the
`combination of the Bifido, in combination with the checkpoint
`to treat cancer. What we found in all three references, as
`we'll go through, are unequivocal statements that that Bifido,
`whether it's in Singh, Kohwi, or Mohania has any cancer
`activity. All the statements are there.
` What Patent Owner has done has said -- tried to get
`around those statements, said, Let's look at the underlying
`data and see if it's trustworthy. But the statements are
`unequivocal. And in our -- in Patent Owner's view, the data
`is strong. And one of the ways we can show the data is strong
`is if we look at other peer-reviewed articles, which expressly
`opine on what the prior art at issue says. And that's what
`we've done here.
` So that's, sort of, the broad overview of our case.
`So if we go to the first one, Korman in View of Singh and
`Dong. So Korman, as it says in Slide 13, it teaches
`systemically administering an immune checkpoint inhibitor,
`such as an anti-PD-1 or a CTLA antibody to treat MC38
`colorectal cancer cells or SA1/N fibrosarcoma cells. And as
`the institution decision stated, there's no question that
`Korman shows, using this checkpoint inhibitors, to treat a few
`different types of cancer.
` If we then go to the secondary reference, Singh,
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`11
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`which talks about Bifido. What Singh did was he orally
`administers Bifido, specifically, B. longum in rats, which had
`been subjected to AOM subcutaneously, which had developed
`tumors. And what they found, as stated in Singh, if you now
`look at the middle quote in the abstract, under Exhibit 1004,
`Page 1 abstract, "Data suggests that oral administration of
`probiotic B. longum exerts strong anti-tumor activity."
` Now, there's a lot of criticism from Patent Owner
`about whether the AOM model and the Bifido actually was
`against the carcinogen or whether it was against the tumor
`cell. The evidence shows, first of all, that if we take a
`look at the first quote on the demonstrative, under Exhibit
`1004, Page 2, it says, "It was of interest to evaluate the
`colon tumor inhibitory properties of dietary B. longum in the
`established colon cancer model."
` So it's an established colon cancer model and you
`have expressed statements, as shown in the abstract, that B.
`longum exerts anti-tumor activity. But if we then turn to
`Slide 15, these two -- these references, and there's two more,
`are strong evidence of what a person of ordinary skill in the
`art would have understood Singh to say.
` And if we take a look at Exhibit 1050, Page 5, they,
`in that peer-reviewed paper, say, quote, "Sing et al.
`demonstrated that a dietary administration in rats of
`lyophilized cultures of B. longum resulted in a significant
`suppression of colon tumor incidents and tumor multiplicity."
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`12
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
` So you have a peer-reviewed article, subsequently
`reviewing Singh, which is also a peer-reviewed article,
`interpreting that reference to say that B. longum showed or
`resulted in a significant suppression of colon tumor incidents
`and tumor multiplicity. Nothing limited to whether it's AMO-
`induced.
` If we then go to the next quote, Zhang, Exhibit
`1051, Page 7505, once again, this ordinary skilled artisan in
`a non -- from a non-biased perspective, not an expert, of
`Patent Owner states, "Dietary administration of
`Bifidobacterium longum had significant suppression of colon
`tumor incidents, tumor multiplicity, and tumor volume."
` So, once again, this is yet another piece of
`evidence showing that one of ordinary skill in the art, when
`interpreting Singh, interpreted it to show anti-cancer
`activity of the B. longum.
` And we have two more articles from Kupathi (ph),
`Exhibit 1051, Page 341, saying, "Singh observed that
`Bifidobacterium longum exerts a strong anti-tumor activity in
`his colon cancer." And we also -- and this is on Slide 16.
`And then on 1052, Page 2, we, once again, have another peer-
`reviewed article, saying, "In rats, Bifidobacterium longum
`administered alone or in associate with non-digestible
`oligosaccharides exhibits strong anti-tumor activity."
` If we then take a look at Slide 17, Singh alleged
`that the mechanism of action could go through a number of
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`13
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`different possibilities, but one of which is an
`immunomodulatory role. There's nothing in Singh that
`precludes that immunomodulatory role of the Bifido. In fact,
`if you take a look at what Singh said, they can proceed
`through diverse mechanisms.
` And, indeed, if we then go to Slide Number 19, we,
`once again, have a peer-reviewed article subsequently
`published, opining on the disclosure of Singh. Exhibit 1001,
`Page 6, under the discussion in this article says,
`"Bifidobacterium spp. and LAB are probiotic organisms in
`humans and stimulate immune function and anti-tumor effects."
`Citations to references 19 through 45.
` Singh is 38. So now we have a peer-reviewed
`publication, interpreting Singh, showing the immunomodulatory
`effects. And then when I asked Patent Owner's expert about,
`Isn't it true that that's how a person of ordinary skill in
`the art would construe Singh, to have those immunomodulatory
`effects? And we look at the testimony that's cited on Page 18
`at 1042, 121:4 to 122:12, Patent Owner's expert confirmed,
`yes, that was a correct interpretation of Lee.
` So the other point, if we then now turn to Page --
`Slide 19 -- one second, Judges.
` The question is, what is the immunomodulatory
`properties of B. longum? And Petitioner combined it with
`Dong. Dong described B. longum. And, in fact, what they were
`interested in was what was the activity of a dendritic cell.
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`14
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`Because in immunology, basically, you have a dendritic cell,
`which can activate the T-cell.
` And the dendritic cell can spit out a number of
`cytokines; IL-10, IL-12, IL-6, IL-2. And you have to look at
`the ratios. And then if it works on a T-cell and activates
`the T-cell, the T-cell will secrete interferon gamma. Which
`is the hallmark -- the hallmark of an immunostimulatory
`response, known as a Th1 response.
` And this is what Dong found. This is what Dong
`found, that these dendritic cells, upregulated IL-12 and that
`they also, in terms of a T-cell response, the T-cell spit out
`interferon gamma, which is the hallmark of a Th1 response.
` So it's clear that Dong shows an immunostimulatory strain
`of B. longum and that is what is shown on Slide 19, where they
`show that the dendritic cell increased suppression of CD86 IL-
`12, which is an immunostimulatory cytokine and interferon
`gamma. And that in induced maturation of those dendritic
`cells, that would favor a T-cell response of the body in a Th1
`type, the hallmark of an immunostimulatory response in cancer.
`So that's what dong shows for B. longum.
` If we go then to Slide 20, Patent Owner criticizes
`Dong because Dong shows that you also have some upregulation
`of IL-10. However, as Patent Owner has said in other papers,
`it's clearly the ratio of IL-10 to IL-12. And what we know
`here is that because the T-cell spit out the interferon gamma
`and the dendritic cell also upregulated IL-12, that the
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`15
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`balanced effect was immunostimulatory.
` And how do we know this? We know this by none other
`than the inventors themselves. If we take a look at Slide 21,
`here are the inventors, Gajewski, Sivan, and Corrales, telling
`you that quote -- Exhibit 2005, Page 1085, "Stimulatory
`interactions between Bifidobacteria and the host immune
`system, including those associated with interferon gamma ,
`have been described previously." So they're talking about an
`immunostimulatory response and they're pointing to interferon
`gamma.
` So they're concluding that Dong shows an
`immunostimulatory Beta Longum. Now, Patent Owner tries to
`exclude this statement, which on its face, is -- it -- for
`Patent Owner to then put in an exhibit and try to exclude it
`tells you something. So there's no merit to the exclusion.
`And furthermore, what they're trying to run away from is the
`expressed acknowledgement by the inventors themselves that
`interferon gamma is the key cytokine in terms of determining
`an immunostimulatory response. And that's what they show
`here.
` And then they also show in the Motion to Exclude
`that, well, possibly, the inventors aren't one of ordinary
`skill. But I would point out, Your Honors, that if we take a
`look at Exhibit 2005, there are no less than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
`7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 authors on that paper, and it's a peer-
`reviewed paper. So it's clearly persuasive and strong
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`16
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`evidence that B. longum is immunostimulatory.
` In terms of whether the -- now, once again, Patent
`Owners says, Well, we don't really agree with Dong's
`methodology, and I'd direct you to Slide 22. I don't think,
`at this point, it's time cost (sic) efficient for me to go
`through each of Petitioner's rebuttals to Patent Owner's
`criticisms of Dong. But nevertheless, what is ultimately
`important and what is shown by the inventors is that the
`inventors themselves said it was immunostimulatory.
` So these criticisms, they don't have any water. And
`Dr. Braun does not believe that Petitioner has shown anything
`in terms of whether or not Dong's data is trustworthy.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Do you argue that the statements of
`the inventors rise to the level of an admission?
` MR. BAUER: I did -- we did not.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Okay.
` MR. BAUER: We did not. Although, you could.
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Okay.
` MR. BAUER: Nevertheless, it's from the inventors
`themselves. And, indeed, if we take a look at Slide 23, if
`you look at the inventors' own patent, Exhibit 1001, Column
`40, Line 33 to 54, they're also looking at dendritic cells and
`interferon gamma. What they say at Lines 45, "JAX-derived DCs
`elicited elevated levels of T-cell IFN-gamma production." And
`then pointed to that as showing an immunostimulatory response.
` So putting this all together, Korman shows the use
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`17
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`of CPIs to treat a couple of different types of cancer; colon
`cancer and fibrosarcoma cancer. Singh tells you, I can orally
`administer Bifidobacterium longum and treat colon cancer, and
`I also have a number of different mechanisms, one of which,
`immunomodulatory.
` Then you add Dong in, which tells you B. longum is
`immunostimulatory. When you put that all together, there's
`your case of obviousness. What is the suggestion to combine?
`First of all, if we take a look at Slide 24, under In re
`Kerhoven, "It is prima facie obvious to combine two
`compositions, each of which is taught by the prior art to be
`useful for the same purpose." So here, both Korman and Singh
`tell you, we're going to use each agent to treat a certain
`type of cancer.
` So that's enough for the reason to combine.
`Furthermore --
` JUDGE SNEDDEN: Is it the same type of cancer, colon
`cancer?
` MR. BAUER: Yes.
` JUDGE SNEDDEN: Yeah.
` MR. BAUER: And Dong shows that the Beta longum's
`immunostimulatory. So you -- there have -- now, the
`combination to combine and the reasonable expectation of
`success, based on any cancer activity of Korman, any cancer
`activity of Singh, and also the immunostimulatory effect. So
`that's our position why Korman, in view of Singh and Dong,
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`18
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`render the claims obvious.
` Now, with respect to some dependent claims, I think
`we'll rest on the papers in Slide 25, we're talking about an
`antibiotic. We put forth a reference that shows that you can
`use an antibiotic to, basically, deplete the microbiome. And
`then you have the Bifido, so the population of Bifido would be
`greater than, relatively, it was before. And whether it was
`one day before, we just think that's routine optimization.
` So let's turn to Slide 26, which is Korman in View
`of Kohwi. I won't go over Korman because we know it's a CPI
`to treat a number of -- a couple of subsets of cancers. So
`let's Kohwi, which would be Slide 27. Once again, this is a
`secondary reference or the primary reference for Bifido, where
`there's unequivocal statements showing the anti-cancer
`properties of B. infantis or B. adolescentis. And if we take
`a look at the abstract, the statements are unequivocal.
` "The effect of intraregional injections of bacteria
`on subcutaneously transplanted tumor (25 x 10 to the third)
`produced a complete regression in all mice, when treatment
`with B. infantis was started from one day after tumor
`inoculation for six times, where all the control mice were
`dead." All of them. "And the majority of mice rejected the
`re-challenge."
` It also stated in the abstract, "Intraperitoneal
`injection of B. infantis against intraperitoneally
`transplanted tumor also exhibited a remarkable anti-tumor
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`19
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`effect." And we have yet another -- so we have unequivocal
`statements of the anti-tumor effect of Kohwi.
` And once again, if we go to Slide 28, we have peer-
`reviewed publications, which are confirming that Kohwi shows
`anti-cancer of the Bifidobacterium or cited therein. And
`that's specifically Exhibit 1054, Page 485 and Exhibit 1004,
`Page 838. And those quotes are shown on Slide 28.
` And if we then move to Slide 29, once again, we have
`yet another third-party peer-reviewed publications, opining on
`what Kohwi shows. And while the printing may not be perfect,
`it may be a little blurry, what it says is, in the left-hand
`column is, "Bifidobacterium infantis," that's the type. The
`tumor is a Meth A. sarcoma. The animal is a mouse. The -- it
`says, "Target immunomodulation." And then the outcome is,
`"Tumor regression."
` So, once again, it's just another example of another
`party, looking at Kohwi, showing any tumor activity. And then
`if we move to Slide 30, I just want to point out a couple
`things very quickly, Judges. Given these unequivocal
`statements from Kohwi, Patent Owner's left with really
`scraping at the edges. And what they've said is that,
`somehow, the data in Table 3 conflicts with or is not
`statistically significant and is different than the data in
`Table 6.
` But what I'd like to show, Your Honor, if I may --
`can I approach the screen on --
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`20
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
` JUDGE MITCHELL: Sure.
` MR. BAUER: What I'd like to show is that if you
`take a look at this data here, this one, you have a 50 percent
`survival rate. Now, the assay for this -- these three,
`according to Patent Owner themselves is the same as this.
`They say -- the Patent Owner says this is not statistically
`significant, even though control, they all died and with
`Bifido infantis, 50 percent survived, and 1, which is
`statistically significant here, you now have 47 percent
`survived.
` So clearly, you're showing a 50 percent survival
`rate. And the reason I mentioned the number 50 percent,
`because if you take a look at -- when we get to enablement,
`the response rates, they're telling you 10 percent, 15 percent
`is enough for this Court to believe that the response is
`effect, but yet, in this here -- this chart here, 50 percent
`is not good enough.
` Now, the reason that may not be statistically
`significant on the upper chart, Table 3, is that there just
`may not be enough mice. But they all died. They were 50
`percent and the bottom, which was statistically significant,
`they died. So we think the evidence is unequivocal that, yes,
`the data does who that the Beta infantis and adolescentis of
`Kohwi has anti-tumor effects on Meth A. sarcoma cells and that
`the prior art recognized that.
` And then if we go to Slide 31, we also note that
`
`
`
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`26
`
`21
`
`
`

`

`Case PGR2019-00002
`Patent 9,855,302 B2
`Kohwi suggest that it could have an immunological stimulation,
`that it was augmented or stimulated. And I direct the Court
`to Exhibit 1007, Page 5. And once again, in terms of the
`immunomodulatory component of Kohwi, I direct the Board's
`attention to Slide 32, where Lee subsequently published a
`peer-reviewed article, commented on Kohwi and said, quote,
`"Bifidobacterium spp. And LAB are probiotic organisms in
`humans and stimulate the immune function and anti-tumor
`effects."
` Yet another confirmatory reference showing the anti-
`tumor effects of the Bifidobacterium of Kohwi. So, once
`again, if we then turn to Slide 33, in terms of the
`obviousness case, we've got a primary reference, Korman,
`showing CPIs against colon cancer and fibrosarcoma. We have
`Kohwi showing both B. infantis and B. adolescentis to exert
`any tumor activity against Meth-A sarcoma cancer.
` So, now -- once again, we have two agents, the same
`purpose. We also have the immunostimulatory data in text in
`Kohwi as confirmed by Lee. So, once again, we have the
`reasonable -- we have the motivation to combine and

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

Still Working On It

This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.

Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.

throbber

A few More Minutes ... Still Working

It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.

Thank you for your continued patience.

This document could not be displayed.

We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

Set your membership status to view this document.

With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll get a whole lot more, including:

  • Up-to-date information for this case.
  • Email alerts whenever there is an update.
  • Full text search for other cases.
  • Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.

Become a Member

One Moment Please

The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.

Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.

Your document is on its way!

If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.

Sealed Document

We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.

If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.


Access Government Site

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket