The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and effectiveness of viramidine to ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C patients who have never before received treatment.

Compare the efficacy and safety of viramidine 600 mg twice a day (BID) versus ribavirin 1000/1200 mg/day, both drugs administered in combination with pegylated interferon alfa-2a to treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Treatment-naive patients with compensated chronic hepatitis C.
• HCV RNA >2000 copies/mL (780 IU/mL) as determined by NGI SuperQuant serum HCV RNA quantification, with a lower limit of detection of 100 copies/mL (39 IU/mL).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe neuropsychiatric disorders
• History or clinical manifestations of significant metabolic, hematological, pulmonary, ischemic heart disease, significant or unstable heart disease, gastrointestinal, neurological, renal, urological, endocrine, ophthalmologic disorders including severe retinopathy, or immune mediated disease
• Pregnant or breast-feeding patients