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The current treatment regimen for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is peginterferon plus ribavirin. Although this therapy approach is effective, it is fraught with side effects that limit its use. Moreover, newer, more-effective regimens that add a protease inhibitor result in even more adverse effects. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of substituting a ribavirin prodrug — viramidine (renamed taribavirin) — for ribavirin in a peginterferon-based regimen, investigators conducted a randomized, blinded, multicenter, phase III trial involving approximately 900 treatment-naive HCV-infected patients.
Of this cohort, about 600 patients received fixed-dose viramidine (600 mg twice daily) plus peginterferon alfa-2b (PEG; 1.5…