vx-950 has been around for awhile overseas, it is a protease inhibitor, ie. to stop the replicatioin of the virus, as apposed to the viral inhibitor that ribavirin is. It claims to stop the replication of the virus in days. I have always said until the research goes in the same direction that HIV drugs did we would never get a handle on this. As HIV and Hep C have very similar viral makeups (rna virus). I have been watching the progress of this for a couple of yrs.

the difference between the protease inhibitor and a viral inhibitor is that the viral inhibitor kills the cell w/the virus, the protease inhibitor kills the viral molecule and not the cell, thus you don't get the nasty ribavirin side effects largely caused by the killing of your cells

vx-950 will replace ribavirin in combo treatment w/interferon, and perhaps even mono treatment for very low viral loads

Is my understanding the first phase of the US trials will be for type 1's that have failed all other treatments, but could be wrong, its all been pretty hush, hush.

www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/...at.html

I think anyone interested though should get in the data base and your odds of getting in will improve as the trials expand.