Parathyroid hormone antagonists and uses thereof

• US 20080108086A1
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Scantibodies Laboratory Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Scantibodies Laboratory Incorporated
• Inventors: Cantor, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US11/894,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20080108086A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/7.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 38/29 Parathyroid hormone, i.e. parathormone; Parathyroid hormone-related peptides
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 19/10 for osteoporosis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2333/635 Parathyroid hormone (parathormone); Parathyroid hormone-related peptides
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2800/108 Osteoporosis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/78 Thyroid gland hormones , e.g. T3, T4, TBH, TBG or their receptors

Abstract

The present invention relates to parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonists. More particularly, the present invention provides for pharmaceutical compositions, kits and combinations comprising the PTH antagonist. The present invention also provides for methods for preventing, treating or delaying a disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral, e.g., calcium, loss or for preventing, treating or delaying the effect of a PTH agonist using the PTH antagonist. The present invention further provides for methods for identifying a subject having or at risk of having osteoporosis or decreased bone density, or for identifying a subject in need of PTH antagonist treatment, or for monitoring a subject undergoing treatment for osteoporosis or decreased bone density, by determining and/or monitoring PTH antagonist level or a comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist. The present invention further provides for methods for identifying an agent suitable for preventing, treating or delaying osteoporosis by identifying a compound that enhances the PTH antagonist activity.

Claims

1. A pharmaceutical composition, which pharmaceutical composition comprises an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH₁₈₄), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues.

2. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the N-terminal amino acid residue of the PTH antagonist starts at position 2 of the PTH_1-84.

3. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the C-terminal amino acid residue of the PTH antagonist ends at position 84 of the PTH_1-84.

4. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the PTH antagonist is a protein or a peptide, or a nucleic acid encoding said protein or peptide, selected from the group consisting of PTH_2-84, PTH_3-84, PTH_4-84, PTH_5-84, PTH_6-84, PTH_7-84, PTH_8-84, PTH_9-84, PTH_10-84, PTH_11-84, PTH_12-84, PTH_13-84, PTH_14-84, PTH_15-84, PTH_16-84, PTH_17-84, PTH_18-84, PTH_19-84, PTH_20-84, PTH_21-84, PTH_22-84, PTH_23-84, PTH_24-84, PTH_25-84, PTH_26-84, PTH_27-84, PTH_28-84, PTH_29-84, PTH_30-84, PTH_31-84, PTH_32-84, and PTH_33-84.

5. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the PTH antagonist is a protein or a peptide, or a nucleic acid encoding said protein or peptide, selected from the group consisting of PTH_7-69, PTH_7-70, PTH_7-71, PTH_7-72, PTH_7-73, PTH_7-74, PTH_7-75, PTH_7-76, PTH_7-77, PTH_7-78, PTH_7-79, PTH_7-80, PTH_7-81, PTH_7-82, PTH_7-83 and PTH_7-84.

6. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the PTH antagonist has a length of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 or 83 amino acid residues.

7. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the PTH antagonist further comprises an amino acid residue substitution or modification that enhances or does not decrease its antagonist activity, or an amino acid residue substitution or modification that stabilizes the PTH antagonist.

8. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 7, wherein the amino acid residue substitution or modification is selected from the group consisting of His₂₅, His₂₆, Leu₂₇, Tyr₃₄, D-Trp₁₂, Nle_8,18, desamino(Nle_8,18), Lys₁₃ modified in the epsilon-amino acid group by N,N-diisobutyl or 3-phenylpropanoyl, Gly₁₂ substituted by D-Trp, L-Trp, L- or D-α

- or β

-naphthylalanine, or D- or L-α

-MeTrp, the amino acid residue at positions 7, 11, 23, 24, 27, 28, or 31 being cyclohexylalanine, the amino acid residue at position 3, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 34 being α

-aminoisobutyric acid, the amino acid residue at position 1 being α

, β

-diaminopropionic acid, the amino acid residue at position 27 being homoarginine, the amino acid residue at position 31 being norleucine, each of Arg₂₅, Lys₂₆, Lys₂₇ being substituted with Ala, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, H is, Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr or Val, and a combination thereof.

9. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, which is formulated in a solid or a liquid dosage form.

10. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, which is formulated for oral, parenteral, intranasal, topical, or injectable administration.

11. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 10, wherein the injectable administration is selected from the group consisting of intracavemous injection, subcutaneous injection, intravenous injection, intramuscular injection and intradermal injection.

12. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is a DNA.

13. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is an RNA.

14. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is comprised in a gene therapy vector.

15. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 14, wherein the gene therapy vector is selected from the group consisting of an adenovirus associated vector, a retroviral vector, an adenovirus vector, and a lentivirus vector.

16. A kit, which kit comprises a pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 in a container and an instruction for using the pharmaceutical composition in preventing, treating or delaying a disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss or for balancing the effect of excess PTH agonist.

17. The kit of claim 16, wherein the disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss is selected from the group consisting of hyperparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy, osteoporosis, parathyroid cancer, hypercalcemia, an immune disease and hypertension.

87. A kit, which kit comprises a pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 in a container and an instruction for using the pharmaceutical composition in preventing, treating or delaying bone metastasis.

18. A combination, which combination comprises an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist and an effective amount of an agent suitable for preventing, treating or delaying a disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues.

19. A method for preventing, treating or delaying a disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss in a mammal, which method comprises administering to a mammal, to which such prevention, treatment or delay is needed or desirable, an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist,

wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues,

whereby said disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss is prevented, treated or delayed.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the mammal is a human.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the human:

a) is in need of increased bone density or bone healing;

b) has undergone or is presently undergoing corticosteroid therapy, chemotherapy for post menopausal bone loss, radiation therapy for cancer or hormone replacement therapy;

c) is immobilized or subjected to extended bed rest due to bone injury;

d) suffers from alcoholism, diabetes, hyperprolactinemia, anorexia nervosa, primary and secondary amenorrhea, or oophorectomy;

e) is 50 years or older;

f) is a female;

or

g) is a male.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the female is 40 years or older or is in the post-menopausal stage.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the human has an abnormal PTH antagonist level or an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the human has an abnormal PTH agonist level.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist is determined by determining and comparing at least two of the parameters selected from the group consisting of the level of the PTH agonist, the PTH antagonist and the sum of the PTH agonist and the PTH antagonist level.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the comparison is in the form of a ratio, a proportion or subtraction difference.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the human has a PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio more than 2 and the method is used to bring the PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio within a range from about 1 to about 2.

28. The method of claim 19, wherein the disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss is selected from the group consisting of hyperparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy, osteoporosis and parathyroid cancer.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein the N-terminal amino acid residue of the PTH antagonist starts at position 2 of the PTH_1-84.

30. The method of claim 19, wherein the C-terminal amino acid residue of the PTH antagonist ends at position 84 of the PTH_1-84.

31. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is a protein or a peptide, or a nucleic acid encoding said protein or peptide, selected from the group consisting of PTH_2-84, PTH_3-84, PTH_4-84, PTH_5-84, PTH_6-84, PTH_7-84, PTH_8-84, PTH_9-84, PTH_10-84, PTH_11-84, PTH_12-84, PTH_13-84, PTH_14-84, PTH_15-84, PTH_16-84, PTH_17-84, PTH_18-84, PTH_19-84, PTH_2O-84, PTH_21-84, PTH_22-84, PTH_23-84, PTH_24-84, PTH_25-84, PTH_26-84, PTH_27-84, PTH_28-84, PTH_29-84, PTH_30-84, PTH_31-84, PTH_32-84, and PTH_33-84.

32. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is a protein or a peptide, or a nucleic acid encoding said protein or peptide, selected from the group consisting of PTH_7-69, PTH_7-70, PTH_7-71, PTH_7-72, PTH_7-73, PTH_7-74, PTH_7-75, PTH_7-76, PTH_7-77, PTH_7-78, PTH_7-79, PTH_7-80, PTH_7-81, PTH_7-82, PTH_7-83 and PTH_7-84.

33. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist has a length of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 or 83 amino acid residues.

34. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist further comprises an amino acid residue substitution or modification that enhances or does not decrease its antagonist activity, or an amino acid residue substitution or modification that stabilizes the PTH antagonist.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the an amino acid residue substitution or modification is selected from the group consisting of His₂₅, His₂₆, Leu₂₇, Tyr₃₄, D-Trp₁₂, Nle_8,18, desamino(Nle_8,18), Lys₁₃ modified in the epsilon-amino acid group by N,N-diisobutyl or 3-phenylpropanoyl, Gly₁₂ substituted by D-Trp, L-Trp, L- or D-α

- or β

-naphthylalanine, or D- or L-α

-MeTrp, the amino acid residue at positions 7, 11, 23, 24, 27, 28, or 31 being cyclohexylalanine, the amino acid residue at position 3, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 34 being α

-aminoisobutyric acid, the amino acid residue at position 1 being α

,β

-diaminopropionic acid, the amino acid residue at position 27 being homoarginine, the amino acid residue at position 31 being norleucine, each of Arg₂₅, Lys₂₆, Lys₂₇ being substituted with Ala, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, H is, Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr or Val, and a combination thereof.

36. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered in a solid or a liquid dosage form.

37. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered orally, parenterally, intranasally, topically, injectably or via a liposome.

38. The method of claim 19, wherein the nucleic acid encoding the PTH antagonist is administered via a gene therapy vector.

39. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered as a bolus.

40. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered continuously.

41. The method of claim 19, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered intermittently or is multiply administered.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered over a course of about 1, 2, 2-6, 6-12, or 12-24 hours.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered over a course of about 1, 2, 2-5, 5-14, or 14-60 days.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered over a course of about 1, 2, 2-6, 6-12, 12-24, 24-48, or more months.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein the PTH antagonist is administered intraperitoneally daily for about 2 months and then the administration is stopped for about 1 month and then resumed intraperitoneally daily for about 2 months.

46. The method of claim 20, wherein the human has undergone or is presently undergoing PTH agonist therapy, and the method is used to prevent, treat or delay excessive bone mineral loss caused by or associated with the PTH agonist therapy.

47. The method of claim 46, which is used to prevent, treat or delay bone density decrease caused by or associated with said PTH agonist therapy.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the PTH agonist has the PTH adenylate cyclase activating activity.

49. The method of claim 46, wherein the human has an abnormal PTH agonist and/or PTH antagonist level.

50. A method for preventing, treating or delaying the effect of a PTH agonist in a mammal, which method comprises administering to a mammal, to which such prevention, treatment or delay is needed or desirable, an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues,

whereby the effect of said PTH agonist is prevented, treated or delayed.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the PTH agonist has the PTH adenylate cyclase activating activity.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein the human has an abnormal PTH antagonist level or an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein the human has a PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio more than 2 and the method is used to bring the PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio within a range from about 1 to about 2.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein the PTH agonist is a human PTH agonist.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the PTH agonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH agonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH agonist starts at position 1 of said PTH_1-84; and

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH agonist ends at any position spanning position 34 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84.

56. The method of claim 50, which is used for treating hypercalcemia.

57. The method of claim 50, which is used for diagnosing or treating hyperparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the hyperparathyroidism results in a hypercalcemic crisis.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein the hyperparathyroidism is caused by renal failure.

60. The method of claim 50, wherein the mammal has a tumor producing a parathyroid hormone-like substance.

61. The method of claim 50, which is used for treating an immune disease.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the immune disease comprises inflammation, an allergic response or hyperactive lymphocytes.

63. The method of claim 50, which is used for treating hypertension.

64. The method of claim 50, wherein the mammal is a human patient undergoing a calcium or vitamin D treatment and the method further comprises a step of monitoring the PTH antagonist level or a comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist to guide the administration of calcium or vitamin D in the patient.

65. A method for identifying a subject having or at risk of having osteoporosis or decreased bone density, which method comprises determining PTH antagonist level or a comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist and identifying a subject having an abnormal PTH antagonist level or an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist as having or at risk of having osteoporosis or decreased bone density.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the abnormal PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio is more than 2 or less than 1.

67. A method for identifying a subject in need of parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist treatment, which method comprises determining PTH antagonist level or a comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist and identifying a subject having an abnormal PTH antagonist level or an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist as in need of parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist treatment.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the abnormal PTH agonist and/or PTH antagonist level results in a PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio more than 2 or less than 1.

69. The method of claim 67, further comprising administering an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist to the identified subject.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues.

71. A method for monitoring a subject undergoing treatment for osteoporosis or decreased bone density, which method comprises determining PTH antagonist level or a comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist and identifying a subject having an abnormal PTH antagonist level or an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist.

72. The method of claim 71, which identifies a subject having PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio more than 2 or less than 1 as having an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist.

73. The method of claim 72, further comprising bringing the PTH agonist/PTH antagonist ratio within a range from about 1 to about 2.

74. The method of claim 71, which identifies a subject having PTH agonist-PTH antagonist equals or is more than 50 pg/ml or a subject having PTH agonist level is less than PTH antagonist level as having an abnormal comparative value between PTH agonist and PTH antagonist.

75. The method of claim 71, wherein the subject is undergoing a calcium, bisphosphanate or vitamin D treatment.

76. A method for identifying an agent suitable for preventing, treating or delaying osteoporosis, which method comprises:

a) measuring PTH antagonist activity in the presence and absence of a candidate compound; and

b) identifying a compound that enhances said PTH antagonist activity as an agent suitable for preventing, treating or delaying osteoporosis.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein the PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues.

78. A pharmaceutical composition, which pharmaceutical composition comprises an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of pig PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

2, dog PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

3, bovine PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

4, rat PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

5, or chicken PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

6, or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of pig, dog, bovine, rat or chicken PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues.

79. A method for preventing, treating or delaying a disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss in a mammal, which method comprises administering to a mammal, to which such prevention, treatment or delay is needed or desirable, an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of pig PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

2, dog PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

3, bovine PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

4, rat PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

5 or chicken PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

6, or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of pig, dog, bovine, rat or chicken PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues,

whereby said disease or disorder associated with excessive bone mineral loss is prevented, treated or delayed.

80. A method for preventing, treating or delaying the effect of a PTH agonist in a mammal, which method comprises administering to a mammal, to which such prevention, treatment or delay is needed or desirable, an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of pig PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

2, dog PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

3, bovine PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

4, rat PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

5 (PTH_1-84), or chicken PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO;

6, or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of pig, dog, bovine, rat or chicken PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues,

whereby the effect of said PTH agonist is prevented, treated or delayed.

81. A method for preventing, treating or delaying bone metastasis in a human, which method comprises administering to a human, to which such prevention, treatment or delay is needed or desirable, an effective amount of a parathyroid hormone (PTH) antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of said PTH antagonist, wherein said PTH antagonist comprises a contiguous portion of human PTH having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:

1 (PTH_1-84), or a nucleic acid encoding said portion of human PTH, and said PTH antagonist has the following characteristics;

a) the N-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist starts at any position spanning position 2 through position 33 of said PTH_1-84;

b) the C-terminal amino acid residue of said PTH antagonist ends at any position spanning position 35 through position 84 of said PTH_1-84; and

c) said PTH antagonist has a minimal length of three amino acid residues,

whereby said bone metastasis is prevented, treated or delayed.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein the bone metastasis is associated with or caused by breast cancer, prostate cancer or multiple myeloma.

83. The method of claim 81, which is used to prevent, treat or delay morbidity or mortality associated with the bone metastasis.

84. The method of claim 81, which is used to prevent, treat or delay pain, pathological fractures, hypercalcemia or spinal cord compression associated with the bone metastasis.

85. The method of claim 81, wherein the PTH antagonist or an agent that enhances production and/or antagonizing function of the PTH antagonist is administered orally or intravenously.

86. The method of claim 81, which is used in combination with a hormone therapy or a chemotherapy.