Benjamin Weathersby, MD
Nephrology · North Charleston, SCNPI 1730182932
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (60.0%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. at 34.8% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $10,691, more than ten times the $649 reported in 2019. Among nephrology clinicians in SC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 205 payments — averaging $70.03 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$5K
- Novartis$5K
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$1K
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$351
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$317
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$280
- plus $3K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$8,61360%
- Speaking & faculty fees$660%
- Travel & lodging$1121%
- Food & beverage$5,37737%
- Education$1901%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 12 | $4,991 |
| Novartis | 17 | $4,683 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 58 | $1,010 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 10 | $351 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 9 | $317 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 9 | $280 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 11 | $244 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 4 | $239 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $223 |
| Vantive US Healthcare LLC | 4 | $218 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 13 | $216 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $208 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 10 | $198 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $180 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 6 | $122 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $98 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $97 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 3 | $83 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $60 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 2 | $60 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 3 | $59 |
| GSK | 3 | $54 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 2 | $50 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $45 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $26 |
| Bayer | 1 | $20 |
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.
- TARPEYO$4,766
- Fabhalta$4,362
- Vanrafia$4,362
- SYMPLICITY G3$165
- LUPKYNIS$162
- NXSTAGE SYSTEM ONE$143
- VIABAHN Endoprosthesis with Heparin Bioactive Surface$123
- Rayaldee$122
- Renal - Chronic$111
- Renal - PD$102
- ACTHAR$101
How this compares
$14,357 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 180 nephrology providers in South 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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 37 | $36,462 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 37 | $31,126 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 22 | $31,035 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 41 | $6,915 |
| Valsartan | 93 | $2,277 |
| Eplerenone | 27 | $2,141 |
| ClinisolParenteral Amino Acid 15% No.5 | 12 | $2,093 |
| Losartan Potassium | 147 | $1,663 |
| Calcium Acetate | 23 | $1,437 |
| Carvedilol | 86 | $790 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 119 | $721 |
| Doxazosin Mesylate | 44 | $704 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 38 | $611 |
| Furosemide | 126 | $594 |
| Spironolactone | 49 | $493 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $45 | $36,46237 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $216 | $31,12637 claims |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Valsartan | $60 | $2,27793 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 90th percentile of 180 nephrology providers in South Carolina.
Other nephrology in North Charleston
- Bradley KalinskyNorth Charleston$11K
- Richard BrowderNorth Charleston$6K
- Norwood HamiltonNorth Charleston$5K
- Jessica ColemanBeaufort$930K
- Moustafa MoustafaOrangeburg$616K
- Harold SzerlipCharleston$229K
- Barry GorlitskyGreenville$195K
- Blake ShustermanGreenville$66K
- Martin WebbBeaufort$66K
- Mohammed AlzubaidiSumter$54K
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.