Christopher Bowlus, MD
Gastroenterology · Sacramento, CANPI 1942252085
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $105,750 of the $168,480 with a category attached, or 62.8%. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Ipsen Innovation at 28.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $89,828 and has fallen 77.4% since, to $20,336 in 2025. Among gastroenterology 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 88 payments — averaging $1914.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Ipsen Innovation$48K
- Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc$44K
- Gilead$27K
- GSK$23K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$7K
- Amgen$5K
- plus $15K from 7 others
Across 367 payments — averaging $7759.25 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$1.1M
- Gilead$806K
- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$262K
- Ipsen Bioscience Inc.$243K
- Novartis$121K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$79K
- plus $252K from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$105,75063%
- Speaking & faculty fees$32,78519%
- Travel & lodging$27,77416%
- Food & beverage$1,6211%
- Education$5500%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ipsen Innovation | 10 | $48,320 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 14 | $44,290 |
| Gilead | 27 | $27,040 |
| GSK | 16 | $22,811 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $6,545 |
| Amgen | 2 | $4,800 |
| Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $4,658 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $3,000 |
| Ipsen Bioscience Inc. | 1 | $2,490 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $1,850 |
| Eli Lilly | 4 | $1,603 |
| Astrazeneca UK Limited | 1 | $806 |
| Perspectum Diagnostics Ltd | 2 | $268 |
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
$168,480 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,885 gastroenterology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| XifaxanRifaximin | 58 | $187,374 |
| Ursodiol | 208 | $53,282 |
| VemlidyTenofovir Alafenamide | 19 | $39,849 |
| Entecavir | 18 | $7,273 |
| Azathioprine | 97 | $6,129 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 11 | $5,654 |
| Colesevelam Hcl | 15 | $3,662 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 25 | $3,118 |
| Rifampin | 27 | $2,953 |
| Lactulose | 21 | $1,728 |
| Budesonide DrBudesonide | 16 | $1,341 |
| Gavilyte-GPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 31 | $580 |
| Spironolactone | 40 | $518 |
| Omeprazole | 31 | $395 |
| Propranolol Hcl | 15 | $287 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GileadVemlidy | $27,040 | $39,84919 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 1,885 gastroenterology providers in California.
Other gastroenterology in Sacramento
- Bennett RothLos Angeles$2.8M
- Douglas NguyenMission Viejo$2M
- Sammy SaabLos Angeles$1.9M
- Kenneth ChangNewport Beach$1.3M
- Joo HwangStanford$1M
- Drew SchembreWalnut Creek$659K
- Quan Nhula Jolla$641K
- Sadeea AbbasiLos Angeles$556K
- Ali RezaieWest Hollywood$519K
- Kenneth BinmoellerSan Francisco$507K
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.