Year: 2014

Merck & Co Inc's quarterly profit and sales just missed expectations as its medicines faced competition from cheaper generics, but the company announced potentially lucrative new cancer-drug partnerships with rival U.S. drugmakers. For the full year, Merck expected to earn $3.35 to $3.53 per share, excluding special items. "Overall, I view this guidance as 'good enough,' given fairly widespread Street concerns about a 'mega-miss,'" ISI Group analyst Mark Schoenebaum said, adding that investors remain more focused on prospects for the company's array of experimental drugs. Separately on Wednesday, Merck said it plans to test its closely followed immuno-oncology drug MK-3475, in combination with medicines being developed by Pfizer Inc, Amgen Inc and Incyte Corp. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Most children and adults in the U.S. are getting less than the recommended amounts of whole grains and dietary fiber, according to a recent study. Researchers found people who did eat the recommended three or more servings of whole grains each day also tended to consume the most fiber. Whole grains are present in some types of hot and cold cereal and bread. The health benefits are in part attributed to the fiber in whole grains.

Former American tennis star Billie Jean King will be unable to join the official U.S. delegation attending the Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremonies due to a serious illness in her family, the White House said on Wednesday. King was one of three openly gay American athletes named to the U.S. delegation, along with skating champion Brian Boitano and ice hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow. "The president extends his thoughts and prayers to Ms. King and her family in this difficult time," the White House said. The White House said Cahow, originally named as a member of the delegation in the closing ceremonies, will instead serve in King's place as a member of the delegation for the opening ceremonies.

What would you do if your mother’s health insurance stopped covering her care?        

By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) – Former "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken said on Wednesday he will run for U.S. Congress as a Democrat in his home state of North Carolina, where he once worked as a special education teacher. Aiken, 35, is likely to face a tough battle in his efforts to unseat Representative Renee Ellmers, a Tea Party Republican favorite, in the state's conservative 2nd congressional district. He filmed the video in a small North Carolina home where he said he and his mother slept for months on a mattress in a friend's living room when he was young. He noted his work teaching children with autism and his international travels with aid organization UNICEF, bookends to his runner-up finish in 2003 on the "American Idol" television talent show that thrust him into the national spotlight.

By Ronnie Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A doctor who generally advises children to turn off electronic devices urges them to play “Stroke Hero,” a video game that teaches kids to identify stroke symptoms and summon help, according to a new study. “While I recognize the hazards of video games, and I recognize the need to limit screen time, what better way to enable children to save lives than to have them play a video game?” Dr. Olajide Williams, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health. Americans suffer nearly 800,000 strokes a year, and on average, one American dies from stroke every four minutes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treatment administered within four and a half hours of the first signs of stroke can save lives and reverse disabling symptoms, said Williams, who is chief of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center.

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Two high-risk bets by GlaxoSmithKline on new ways to fight heart disease and cancer were dealt a double blow last year by dud clinical trials – but the company remains hopeful about both projects. Chief Executive Andrew Witty said on Wednesday there were still “intriguing” opportunities for its heart drug darapladib and MAGE-A3 therapeutic cancer vaccine. Many analysts stripped out forecasts for darapladib, which is designed to prevent heart attacks and strokes in a completely different way from cholesterol-lowering drugs, after it failed to reduce risks in the first of two big final Phase III trials in November. GSK, however, is continuing to investigate the drug’s role in coronary heart disease and Witty told analysts in a call following full-year results that further data on the approach would be presented at a medical meeting next month.