Behnam Asgharian, MD
Gastroenterology · Sanford, NCNPI 1467458802
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 267 payments — averaging $19.91 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$521
- Gilead$423
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$325
- Pfizer$320
- Ardelyx, Inc.$299
- plus $2K from 30 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,11696%
- Education$160%
- Gifts$1853%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 65 | $1,186 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 26 | $521 |
| Gilead | 19 | $423 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 19 | $325 |
| Pfizer | 21 | $320 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 12 | $299 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 9 | $257 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 11 | $235 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 12 | $228 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 10 | $183 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 6 | $150 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $118 |
| Merck | 6 | $113 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 4 | $108 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $101 |
| Amgen | 3 | $77 |
| Sanofi | 3 | $76 |
| QOL Medical, LLC | 3 | $74 |
| Evoke Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $69 |
| Organon | 2 | $52 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 2 | $51 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 2 | $39 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $39 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $30 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $25 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 2 | $25 |
| Novartis | 1 | $24 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Biocon Biologics Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Intra-sana Laboratories | 1 | $19 |
| Covidien LP | 1 | $18 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $18 |
| Sandoz | 1 | $17 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$5,317 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 610 gastroenterology providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 11 | $76,538 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 102 | $68,177 |
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 23 | $36,952 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 490 | $33,752 |
| VemlidyTenofovir Alafenamide | 11 | $17,773 |
| Mesalamine | 16 | $13,003 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 220 | $1,686 |
| Budesonide DrBudesonide | 15 | $1,226 |
| Peg 3350-ElectrolyteSodium Chloride/Nahco3/Kcl/Peg | 55 | $1,046 |
| Famotidine | 23 | $970 |
| Lubiprostone | 12 | $918 |
| Budesonide EcBudesonide | 17 | $869 |
| Omeprazole | 55 | $736 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 26 | $713 |
| Rabeprazole Sodium | 11 | $685 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLinzess, Creon | $1,186 | $105,129125 claims |
| GileadVemlidy | $423 | $17,77311 claims |
| SandozLansoprazole | $17 | $21912 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 60th percentile of 610 gastroenterology providers in North Carolina.
Other gastroenterology in Sanford
- Evan DellonChapel Hill$11.2M
- Andrew MuirDurham$6.6M
- Manal AbdelmalekDurham$5.6M
- Robert ReindollarSalisbury$2.5M
- John PoulosFayetteville$2.1M
- Hans HerfarthChapel Hill$2M
- Herbert BonkovskyWinston Salem$1.7M
- Ikechukwu IbegbuJacksonville$1.5M
- Nicholas ShaheenChapel Hill$1.5M
- David LeimanDurham$1.5M
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.