An Open, Prospective Study to Compare the Safety and Efficacy of Raltegravir vs. Atazanavir / Ritonavir, Both in Combination With Tenofovir DF and Emtricitabine, in the Treatment of HIV-infection in ART Naive Subjects With HCV Co-infection.

Current European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the treatment of HIV infection recommend a combination antiretroviral regimen composed of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors plus a ritonavir boosted protease inhibitor or a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.

The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors licensed for naïve patients - nevirapine and efavirenz - have both been asociated with increased rates of hepatotoxicity (nevirapine) and CNS toxicity (efavirenz) in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Although PI-based therapy has dramatically reduced morbidity and mortality, it has been limited by complex dosing regimens and toxicities, leading to adherence challenges. Varying degree of liver insufficiency may necessitate pharmacokinetic monitoring of the protease inhibitor and may necessitate dose adjustments. In HIV/HCV co-infected patients HAART based on another class of antiretrovirals than NNRTI or PI may thus offer advantages with regard to adverse events and thus long-term efficacy.

The overall intention of this trial is to examine in a non-inferiority design the safety and efficacy of a raltegravir based HAART with a standard-of-care HAART in HIV-/HCV co-infected patients. The standard of care used in this study will be atazanavir/ritonavir. All patients will in addition receive a fixed combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine.

The primary end-point is the rate of hepatotoxic events, defined by ALT elevations.