Oct 17 (Reuters) - German science and technology company

Merck ( MRK ) lowered mid-term targets for its Life Sciences

and Healthcare businesses, anticipating an update on China's

growth prospects and following a string of setbacks in its drug

development.

The company narrowed expectations for its Life Science

business, aiming for a 7-9% range from a previously anticipated

7-10%, it said in a statement.

Merck ( MRK ) also changed the outlook for its Healthcare business

to "slight growth", compared to a previously expected

mid-single-digit percentage range, due to "recently announced

pipeline setbacks", the statement said.

The company has reported a string of setbacks in the

development of cancer and multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs in

recent years.

Merck ( MRK ) however raised the mid-term outlook for its

electronics division to a 5-9% range from a previous 3-6%,

benefiting from high demands of chips for AI applications.