TMC435HPC3001 - An Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability Study for TMC435 vs Telaprevir in Combination With PegINFα-2a and Ribavirin in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Who Were Null or Partial Responders to Prior PegINFα-2a and Ribavirin Therapy

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of TMC435 in combination with peginterferon (PegIFN) + ribavirin (RBV) by means of establishing its non- inferiority compared to an approved regimen of telaprevir + PegIFN + RBV in patients who have previously failed PegIFN.

This study is a randomized (study drug assigned by chance like flipping a coin), double-blind (neither physician nor patient knows the name of the assigned drug), double-dummy (patients receive both active and inactive pills also called placebo), 2-arm, multicenter Phase III clinical study in adult treatment experienced Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) genotype-1 infected patients who failed to respond during at least 1 previous course of PegINFα-2a/ RBV therapy. The purpose of the trial is to study the efficacy of TMC435 in combination with PegINFα-2a and RBV for 48 weeks of treatment compared to the approved regimen of telaprevir in combination with PegINFα-2a and RBV for 48 weeks of treatment. The study will consist of a screening period (maximum 6 weeks), treatment period (48 weeks) and post-treatment period (until 72 weeks after the start of treatment). For the first 12 weeks one group of patients will take TMC435 and TVR placebo, plus PegINFα-2a and RBV. The other group will take TMC435 placebo and TVR, plus PegINFα-2a and RBV. After 12 weeks, patients in both arms will only take PegINFα-2a and RBV up to week 48. After patients stop taking study medication, they will continue to go to the doctor's office for study visits until a total of 72 weeks after they start study treatment. Patients will be monitored for safety throughout the study. Study assessments at each study visit may include, but are not limited to: blood and urine collection for testing, electrocardiogram (ECG) assessments (a measurement of the electrical activity of your heart), patient questionnaires, and physical examinations.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Patient must have had a liver biopsy before screening (or between the screening and baseline visit), unless patient cannot undergo such a procedure or has evidence of portal hypertension not associated with cirrhosis. For patients who had a liver biopsy performed more than 2 years prior to screening or without a biopsy (because of a contraindication or portal hypertension), a non-invasive staging assessment needs to be available. Non-invasive staging assessments include FibroScan, MR-Elastography, or FibroTest/FibroSure and must not be older than 6 months prior to screening
* Chronicity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, as confirmed by one or both of the following: presence of anti-HCV antibody and/or HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) at least 6 months prior to the screening visit and/or presence of fibrosis on biopsy
* Genotype 1 HCV infection with plasma HCV RNA of \>10,000 IU/mL (both confirmed at screening)
* Patient must have had at least 1 documented previous course of treatment with PegINFα-2a or PegINFα-2b in combination with ribavirin (RBV) (at least 12 weeks for null responder and 20 weeks for partial responder)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Hepatic decompensation (impaired functioning of the liver), as indicated by significant laboratory abnormalities or other active diseases
* Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or non genotype 1 hepatitis C
* Liver disease not related to hepatitis C infection
* Previous chronic hepatitis C treatment, other than PegIFN and RBV