1. Third Party Submission under Art 37 CFR 1.99

TKDL third party submission under Art 37 CFR 1.99 brought to the notice of examination division the prior art references on the use of Pueraria tuberosa (indian kudzu) for the treatment of Premature grey hair / Canities and Leucoderma/Vitiligo from the books –Bharata Bhaisajya Ratnakara (Ayurveda, Exhibit 1), Vangasena by Vangasena (Ayurveda, Exhibit 2), Ilaaj-al-Amraaz by Mohammad Shareef Khan (Unani, Exhibit 3) and Sahastrayoga by Govt of India (Central Council for Research in Ayurveda & Siddha) (Ayurveda, Exhibit 4).

2. Relevant Extract of USPTO Examination Report

USPTO Patent Examiner(s) took cognizance of TKDL references. Extract of examination report are reproduced below:

“Claims 7-10 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Sahastrayoga (Central Council for Research in Ayurveda & Siddha, New Delhi, 1990, also listed in IDS as translated non-patent publication III filed by third party on February 20, 2013, hereinafter to as Sahastrayoga ‘1990) in view of Keung et al. (Phytochemistry 47:499-506, 1998, hereinafter referred to as Keung ‘1998).

With regard to claims 7 and 10, Sahastrayoga ‘1990 disclosed a method for treating premature grey hair/canities comprising administering orally to a subject a composition comprising a powdered Pueraria tuberosa (pages 2 and 3)..”

Full examination report can be referred at 20120329739-I.pdf

3. Outcomes of Third Party Submission & Examination Report

As the outcome of TKDL third party and other documents cited in examination report, the examiner decided to reject the claim 7-10 on 20.03.2014 under 35 U.S.C 103 (a) and applicant amended the claims on 19.06.2014.