Science News Roundup: Russian space rocket fails, Boeing rocket for NASA

Russian space rocket fails in mid-air, two-man U.S.-Russian crew lands safely

The two-man U.S.-Russian crew of a Soyuz spacecraft taking them to the orbiting International Space Station had to make a dramatic emergency landing in Kazakhstan on Thursday when a rocket failed in mid-air. U.S. astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin landed safely without harm and rescue crews who raced to locate them on the Kazakh steppe quickly linked up with them, NASA, the U.S. space agency, and Russia's Roscosmos said.

Bristol-Myers to invest in Compugen, collaborate in clinical trials

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Israel's Compugen said on Thursday they will collaborate in clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumours. The trials will evaluate the safety and tolerability of Compugen’s COM701, an investigational antibody, in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo.

Boeing rocket for NASA over budget could further delay launch: audit

Boeing Co is building the largest rocket in NASA's history but the aerospace giant's "poor performance" has resulted in an $8.9 billion price tag that is double the initial budget and could further delay the launch, the U.S. space agency's watchdog office said on Wednesday. The first test launch of the Space Launch System rocket, which is supposed to send humans to the moon and ultimately allow deep space exploration, was most recently slated for mid-2020 with a crew launch to follow in 2022. The launches have been delayed at least three times.

J&J's Stelara succeeds in chronic bowel disease study

Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday its blockbuster drug Stelara was found to be effective in treating a chronic bowel disease in a late-stage trial. Two doses of Stelara, already approved for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease, was tested in 961 patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) who had failed prior therapy.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)