Patent ID: 7638480

Claim:
A method for treating or inhibiting progression or treating symptoms of a fibrotic disease selected from a connective tissue disease, scleroderma, fibrosis of the skin, Dupuytren's contracture, keloid, scarring and fibrosis of the pancreas comprising administering to a patient in need of treatment thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a substance selected from the group consisting of: a) a polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4; b) a polypeptide comprising amino acids 22 to 401 of SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4; c) a polypeptide comprising amino acids 22 to 194 of SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4; d) a mutein of any of (a) to (c), wherein the amino acid sequence has at least 90% identity to at least one of the sequences in (a) to (c); e) a mutein of any of (a) to (c) which is encoded by a DNA sequence which hybridizes to the complement of the DNA sequence encoding any of (a) to (c) under washing conditions of 12-20° C. below the calculated Tm of the hybrid of the DNA sequence of the mutein and the complement in 2×SSC and 0.5% SDS for 5 minutes and which reduces collagen synthesis; and f) a salt or fused protein of any of (a) to (e).