A Study of PEGASYS (Peginterferon Alfa-2a (40KD)) in Combination With Ribavirin in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) Previously Treated With PEG-Intron + Ribavirin

An Open-label, Multicenter, Efficacy and Safety Study of Pegasys® Plus Ribavirin in Patients With Chronic HCV Infection Who Are Unable to Tolerate or Who Do Not Respond to 12 Weeks of Therapy With PEGIntron ® Plus Ribavirin

This study will evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of PEGASYS plus ribavirin in patients with CHC who could not tolerate or were not responsive to 12 weeks of therapy with PEG-Intron plus ribavirin. The anticipated time on study treatment is 1-2 years, and the target sample size is >100 individuals.

Inclusion Criteria:

• adult patients at least 18 years of age
• CHC infection, genotype 1
• unable to tolerate or not responsive to PEG-Intron + ribavirin therapy after 12 weeks of treatment
• use of 2 forms of contraception during the study in both men and women

Exclusion Criteria:

• women who are pregnant or breast-feeding
• medical condition associated with chronic liver disease (eg, hemochromatosis, autoimmune hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, toxin exposures)
• patients with decompensated cirrhosis
• patients receiving any systemic antiviral therapy or investigational drug, other than PEG-Intron + ribavirin, 24 weeks prior to the first dose of study drug