Alpesh Desai
Dermatology · Houston, TXNPI 1386696904
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (53.6%), other and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Skye Orthobiologics LLC at 36.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $743,914 and has fallen 69.1% since, to $230,236 in 2025. Among dermatology clinicians in TX 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 1,094 payments — averaging $1433.51 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Skye Orthobiologics LLC$573K
- AbbVie$294K
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$291K
- Sanofi$152K
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC$109K
- Novartis$100K
- plus $49K from 18 others
Across 230 payments — averaging $5027.66 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.
- Novartis$338K
- Pfizer$194K
- AbbVie$175K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$90K
- Sanofi US Services Inc.$82K
- Regeneron$75K
- plus $203K from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$21,8141%
- Speaking & faculty fees$840,92954%
- Travel & lodging$112,3477%
- Food & beverage$19,9161%
- Education$1890%
- Other$573,06037%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Skye Orthobiologics LLC | 1 | $573,060 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 352 | $293,704 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 227 | $291,067 |
| Sanofi | 98 | $152,105 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 65 | $109,089 |
| Novartis | 213 | $99,855 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 62 | $38,154 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 20 | $10,125 |
| LEO Pharma Inc. | 4 | $210 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 14 | $207 |
| Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $110 |
| Revance Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $107 |
| Strata Skin Sciences, Inc. | 6 | $84 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 5 | $81 |
| Amgen | 4 | $77 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $61 |
| Organon | 2 | $29 |
| UCB, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Biofrontera Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Botanix SB Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Dermavant Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Medimetriks Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$1,568,255 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,098 dermatology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 81 | $339,150 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 42 | $330,889 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 25 | $268,488 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 16 | $79,707 |
| EnstilarCalcipotriene/Betamethasone | 41 | $72,221 |
| BiktarvyBictegrav/Emtricit/Tenofov Ala | 12 | $45,043 |
| FinaceaAzelaic Acid | 18 | $7,531 |
| Clobetasol Propionate | 52 | $3,053 |
| Tacrolimus | 11 | $2,776 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 88 | $2,207 |
| Ketoconazole | 133 | $2,040 |
| Fluocinonide | 47 | $1,740 |
| Betamethasone Dipropionate | 37 | $1,633 |
| Mometasone Furoate | 71 | $1,261 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 102 | $1,255 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LEO Pharma Inc.Enstilar, Finacea | $210 | $79,75259 claims |
| AmgenOtezla | $77 | $79,70716 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 1,098 dermatology providers in Texas.
Other dermatology in Houston
- Geeta PatelHouston$575K
- Michael MigdenHouston$310K
- Catherine PapasakelariouHouston$289K
- Stephen MahoneyHouston$137K
- Edward LainAustin$2.5M
- William CragunSan Antonio$2.2M
- Craig TellerBellaire$1.3M
- Jennifer CatherDallas$1.3M
- Emily BeckerSan Antonio$1.2M
- Ross RaduskyDallas$1.2M
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.