Boehringer Ingelheim has begun enrolling patients in a pivotal late-stage hepatitis C study. The therapy combines faldaprevir (BI 201335), a protease inhibitor administered once daily, and BI 207127, a non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor taken twice daily, plus ribavirin. BI's hep C program represents a new Phase III contender in the race to develop the world's first interferon-free treatment, a field now dominated by Gilead ($GILD) and AbbVie ($ABBV). "Our investigational interferon-free regimen has shown particular promise in treating patients with HCV genotype-1b so we have decided to enroll these patients in our Phase 3 trial program. Our goal is for an interferon-free future and ensuring patients are treated with the most effective treatment for them individually," said Peter Piliero, M.D., vice president, clinical development and medical affairs. Release