Merck posted an 18 percent jump in first-quarter income, beating Wall Street expectations, as reduced spending on marketing, administration and research easily offset lower medicine sales outside the U.S. The maker of Type 2 diabetes pill Januvia and cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin is launching a new cycle of medicines for cancer and hepatitis C as brand-name or generic competition is hurting revenue from some older drugs. Frazier said Merck is looking for acquisitions, but not mega-deals, to bolster its pipeline of experimental drugs, while "actively addressing" key policy issues with the government and others, particularly drug prices and the need for corporate tax reform to make U.S.