Business news in brief

IN THE REGION

Pfizer halts Lyrica study

Pfizer Inc., which has operations in the region, halted a late-stage study of its second-best selling drug, Lyrica, as a possible treatment for a nerve pain in HIV patients. The drugmaker was studying the drug in patients with HIV neuropathy. An analysis showed that pain symptom improvements were nearly identical to those in patients treated with a placebo. Lyrica has U.S. approval to treat diabetic nerve pain, pain after shingles, fibromyalgia and some seizures in adults with epilepsy. It had $955 million in first-quarter sales. — AP

Stock buyback at InterDigital

Wireless technology developer InterDigital Inc., of King of Prussia, announced a $100?million stock repurchase program. The amount and timing of the repurchases will be based on market conditions and other factors, the company said. InterDigital also issued guidance for the second quarter, saying it expects revenue to be approximately $71 million. Shares, which have a 52-week range of $26.06 to $82.50, rose 5.7 percent to $27.75. — Reid Kanaley

ELSEWHERE

CEO to sell in Facebook IPO

Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and investors in his company plan to sell as much as $5.5 billion in stock in the initial public offering now set for May 17. Executives and investors will sell 157.4 million shares for as much as $35 each, according to a filing. Existing shareholders paid an average of $1.11 a share, the filing shows. The IPO could value Facebook at up to $96 billion. — Bloomberg News

Berkshire profit doubles

Warren Buffett's company says its first-quarter profit more than doubled because Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s insurance units avoided major disaster losses and the paper value of its derivative contracts improved. Berkshire said it generated $3.245 billion net income, or $1,966 per Class A share. That's up from last year's $1.511 billion net income, or $917 per share. Last year's results were hurt by $1.1 billion in insurance losses from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Australian floods and the New Zealand earthquake. — AP

Conrad Black returns to Canada

Former media mogul Conrad Black arrived back in Canada, hours after he was deported from the United States following his release from prison in Miami. He served about three years for defrauding investors. Black's empire once included the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph of London and the Jerusalem Post. — AP

Florida bank closed

Federal regulators closed Security Bank NA, a small bank in Florida, bringing to 23 the number of U.S. banks that have failed so far this year. — AP