Application of Josef Fried and Josef E. Herz

WORLEY, Chief Judge.

Fried and Herz appeal from the Board of Appeals’ affirmance of the examiner’s rejection of claims 6, 20 and 21, the remaining claims of their application. 1

The invention relates to steroids of the pregnene series. The claims in dispute are directed to unsaturated preg-nene steroids having a 9,11 epoxy group and an alkylsulfonoxy or iodo group in the 21 position.

Claim 6 reads:

“6. 21-Iodo- Δ 4-pregnene-9β, 11β-oxido-17a-ol-3,20-dione.”

The steroids being claimed may be depicted by the structural formula:

wherein Y is lower alkylsulfonoxy and iodo, Z is hydrogen and alpha…