Christian Nwankwo, MD
Nephrology · Saint Louis, MONPI 1679772198
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (46.0%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Akebia Therapeutics Inc at 58.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $5,338 and has fallen 79.7% since, to $1,086 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in MO 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 262 payments — averaging $40.28 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$6K
- Amgen$601
- AstraZeneca$557
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$542
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$468
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$419
- plus $2K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,02010%
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,12039%
- Travel & lodging$5245%
- Food & beverage$4,85846%
- Education$310%
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 | 31 | $6,212 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 33 | $601 |
| AstraZeneca | 21 | $557 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 50 | $542 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 25 | $468 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 16 | $419 |
| GSK | 19 | $339 |
| Bayer | 11 | $212 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 9 | $151 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 7 | $138 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $108 |
| Novartis | 5 | $107 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $106 |
| Vantive US Healthcare LLC | 2 | $85 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $76 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $69 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 3 | $65 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 4 | $63 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $58 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $43 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $18 |
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
$10,554 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 253 nephrology providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 84 | $263,376 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 52 | $126,035 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 83 | $63,537 |
| Lanthanum Carbonate | 29 | $30,453 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 211 | $28,827 |
| EliquisApixaban | 33 | $20,487 |
| Clonidine | 81 | $10,209 |
| Bumetanide | 146 | $2,624 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 35 | $1,624 |
| Carvedilol | 298 | $1,231 |
| Febuxostat | 15 | $1,154 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 264 | $954 |
| Furosemide | 261 | $925 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 84 | $923 |
| Minoxidil | 58 | $871 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $419 | $263,37684 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $6,212 | $126,03552 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $557 | $63,53783 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 253 nephrology providers in Missouri.
Other nephrology in Saint Louis
- Marcos RothsteinSaint Louis$350K
- Anuja JavaSaint Louis$240K
- Daniel CoyneSaint Louis$163K
- Tarek AlhamadSaint Louis$155K
- Tingting LiSaint Louis$130K
- Krista LentineSaint Louis$86K
- Rowena Delos SantosSaint Louis$30K
- Kabeya MwintshiSaint Louis$25K
- Naoka MurakamiSaint Louis$24K
- Benjamin HumphreysSaint Louis$13K
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.