Darine Kassar, MD
Neuromuscular Medicine · Sugar Land, TXNPI 1902035686
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 90.1% of the total across 277 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 29 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 33.8% of the total.
Across 277 payments — averaging $22.13 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Medtronic$714
- Pfizer$584
- AstraZeneca$508
- UCB, Inc.$491
- Biogen$301
- plus $1K from 23 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $3727.00 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.
- Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$7K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$4958%
- Food & beverage$5,52290%
- Education$1122%
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 | 129 | $2,069 |
| Medtronic | 7 | $714 |
| Pfizer | 43 | $584 |
| AstraZeneca | 17 | $508 |
| UCB, Inc. | 18 | $491 |
| Biogen | 9 | $301 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 7 | $216 |
| Amgen | 7 | $170 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $125 |
| Novartis | 5 | $98 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $93 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 3 | $83 |
| Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. | 4 | $74 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 3 | $74 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $56 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $55 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 2 | $53 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $39 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 2 | $39 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $28 |
| TG Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $23 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Piramal Critical Care | 1 | $18 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $16 |
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
Too few neuromuscular medicine providers in Texasto place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Radicava OrsEdaravone | 50 | $693,302 |
| GammaplexImmun Glob G(Igg)/Gly/Iga 0-50 | 15 | $192,266 |
| GammakedImmune Globul G/Gly/Iga Avg 46 | 20 | $143,805 |
| Gamunex-CImmune Globul G/Gly/Iga Avg 46 | 12 | $99,683 |
| Gammagard LiquidImmun Glob G(Igg)/Gly/Iga Ov50 | 18 | $91,780 |
| Avonex Pen (4 Pack)Interferon Beta-1a | 11 | $87,120 |
| Nurtec OdtRimegepant Sulfate | 37 | $40,404 |
| Riluzole | 23 | $11,180 |
| Levetiracetam | 32 | $4,523 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 65 | $4,305 |
| Memantine Hcl | 169 | $3,924 |
| Pyridostigmine Bromide | 35 | $2,432 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 114 | $2,364 |
| Gabapentin | 172 | $1,846 |
| DilantinPhenytoin Sodium Extended | 12 | $1,824 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grifols USA, LLCGamunex-C | $39 | $99,68312 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Gammagard Liquid | $74 | $91,78018 claims |
| PfizerNurtec Odt, Dilantin | $584 | $42,22849 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. There are too few neuromuscular medicine providers in Texason file to place this against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
Other neuromuscular medicine in Sugar Land
- Yessar HussainAustin$127K
- Matthew WicklundSan Antonio$110K
- Ashley AndersonHouston$76K
- Ratna Bhavaraju SankaSan Antonio$56K
- Suur BilicilerHouston$37K
- Hakam AsaadDallas$8K
- Niloofar YariDallas$5K
- Anita MadanHouston$3K
- George CreelTemple$3K
- Cassie ChanSan Antonio$2K
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.