Peg-Intron and Rebetol Therapy in Treatment of Naive Hepatitis C Patients: A Comparison of Race and Genotype on Treatment Outcome (Study P04212)

Inclusion Criteria: * Comply with all current Australian Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits S100 eligibility criteria. * Able to give written informed consent and adhere to study visit schedule. * South East Asian ethnicity (except for Caucasian Gt1/1b in comparator arm) i.e. born in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China or have both parents born in these countries. * Genotype 1, 1a, 1b, 6, 6a, 6b, 7, 8, or 9, as classified by INNO-LiPA assay. * Hemoglobin \>=120 g/L (females), \>=130 g/L (males). * Platelet count \>=100 x 10\^9/L. * Neutrophil count \>=1.5 x 10\^9/L. * Negative pregnancy test for females. * Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) within normal limits. Exclusion Criteria: * Participation in any other investigational drug program within 30 days of the Screening Visit. * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody positive or hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive. * Genotype 2, 3, 4, or 5, as classified by INNO-LiPA assay. * Non South East Asian ethnicity (unless recruited to Caucasian GT1 comparator arm). * Evidence of liver disease due to other disorders (e.g., hemachromatosis, Wilson's disease). * Ongoing drug or alcohol abuse which in the opinion of the investigator would jeopardize the patient's ability to comply with study requirements. * Inability to comply with study requirements for other reasons. * Decompensated cirrhosis (Ascites, history of encephalopathy or bleeding varices, serum albumin \<35 g/L, prothrombin time (PT) prolonged by greater than 3 sec). * Present or prior history of severe psychiatric disease requiring hospitalization or medication. * History of severe seizure disorder. * History of autoimmune disorders (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus, or other mixed connective tissue disease, psoriasis, optic neuritis). * Poorly controlled thyroid disease. * Creatinine clearance \<50 mL/min. * Severe cardiovascular disease. * Hepatocellular cancer. * Clinically significant ophthalmologic disorders. * Hemoglobinopathies (e.g., thalassemia, sickle-cell anemia). * Treatment or recent treatment with immunosuppressive agents (excluding short-term corticosteroid withdrawal), and immunosuppressed transplant recipients scheme.