SF BizTimes on USPTO reform proposals on continuing applications

But they [biotech execs] said a new set of proposals meant to reduce the waiting time will not provide much relief. The backlog [of patent applications], which has increased in recent years, frustrates biotech companies, which tend to be frequent filers of complex and lengthy applications. The backlogs are an increasingly serious issue for biotechs. It can take patent examiners up to 15 months to begin reviewing an organic chemistry patent application. It can take more than three years to get a drug application to a patent examiner. Once a review has begun, the Patent Office can take several more years to grant a patent. [from San Francisco Business Times]

IPBiz: Looking through the comments on the USPTO's proposed rulemaking on continuing applications, one sees primarily negative responses. Most importantly, even if the reforms were implemented, they would not solve the backlog problem.