We analysed viral kinetics from a 2-day treatment with BILN 2061, a serine protease inhibitor of hepatitis C virus, in patients chronically infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus. The efficiency (ε), describing inhibition of viral production, was above 99.45% in all patients with minor or moderate fibrosis receiving doses of 200 mg and 500 mg twice daily and larger than in previous studies for interferon-based treatments. However, ε was slightly smaller in patients with cirrhosis given 200 mg and markedly smaller in patients given 25 mg. Estimates of viral clearance and infected-cell loss support conclusions on these rates and on treatment mechanisms from previous studies on interferon-α-based treatments.
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