Ajit Sawhney, MD
Nephrology · Fountain Valley, CANPI 1114014438
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $63,745 of the $89,044 with a category attached, or 71.6%. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Akebia Therapeutics Inc at 55.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $54,017 and has fallen 99.8% since, to $134 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 253 payments — averaging $351.95 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$49K
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$37K
- Bayer$1K
- Amgen$396
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$285
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$208
- plus $1K from 13 others
Across 65 payments — averaging $4538.91 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- GSK$208K
- Eli Lilly$59K
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$19K
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$9K
Across 2 payments — averaging $362.27 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Exthera Medical Corporation$725
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$9571%
- Speaking & faculty fees$63,74572%
- Travel & lodging$18,88221%
- Food & beverage$5,3536%
- Education$1070%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 82 | $48,946 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 80 | $36,961 |
| Bayer | 4 | $1,006 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 16 | $396 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 16 | $285 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 5 | $208 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 10 | $205 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 11 | $186 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 4 | $174 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 7 | $157 |
| Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $146 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 7 | $143 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $75 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $34 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $25 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $17 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $13 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
How this compares
$89,044 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,341 nephrology providers in California.
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 55 | $48,764 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 18 | $42,621 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 23 | $37,890 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 43 | $31,915 |
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 13 | $9,280 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 13 | $9,195 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 17 | $8,225 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 26 | $6,893 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 13 | $5,417 |
| Clonidine | 14 | $3,044 |
| Losartan Potassium | 177 | $1,954 |
| Comfort Ez Pen NeedlePen Needle, Diabetic | 18 | $1,547 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 57 | $1,351 |
| Valsartan | 15 | $848 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 69 | $844 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $157 | $48,76455 claims |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $186 | $9,28013 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $48,946 | $9,19513 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 95th percentile of 1,341 nephrology providers in California.
Other nephrology in Fountain Valley
- Anjay RastogiLos Angeles$2.2M
- Glenn ChertowStanford$2M
- Luis AlvarezPalo Alto$1.8M
- Jose MorfinSacramento$1M
- Rodolfo BatarseRancho Mirage$910K
- Vandana MathurWoodside$769K
- Yasir QaziOrange$618K
- Rafael VillicanaLoma Linda$610K
- Sunil PatelApple Valley$509K
- Suphamai BunnapradistLos Angeles$498K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.