Patent ID: 7888462

Claim:
A method of promoting cartilage growth, comprising: determining an area of patient cartilage as being in need of treatment; administering locally to the area, by injection, a therapeutically effective amount of a formulation comprised of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a peptide which is characterized by providing dose dependent generation of cartilage in the area; allowing the formulation to act on the cartilage; and examining the area of the patient to determine a change in cartilage relative to a time prior to the administering wherein the peptide comprises at least 20 and no more than 50 amino acid residues, wherein the sequence has the formula of DLXXXXXNDXXPFXXXXQXF (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein X is any amino acid and the peptide is further characterized by a biological activity which enhances hard tissue growth, and wherein the amino acid may be in the D- or L-conformation.