Emily Shepherd, MD
Retina Specialist · Chicago, ILNPI 1740773928
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (53.7%), speaking fees and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 57.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,799 and has fallen 83.6% since, to $295 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for retina specialist clinicians in IL, where the typical reported total is $2,402.
Across 33 payments — averaging $91.60 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$2K
- Alcon$316
- AbbVie$188
- Sight Sciences, Inc.$185
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$174
- Regeneron$132
- plus $281 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,29843%
- Food & beverage$1,62554%
- Education$1003%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 8 | $1,747 |
| Alcon | 3 | $316 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 5 | $188 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 3 | $185 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 5 | $174 |
| Regeneron | 1 | $132 |
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $97 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $68 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 1 | $38 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
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.
- Syfovre$294
- Clareon$148
- OMNI(R) SURGICAL SYSTEM (US)$144
- NGENUITY$139
- EYLEA HD$132
How this compares
$3,023 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 70 retina specialist providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisolone Acetate | 18 | $761 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other retina specialist in Chicago
- Rahul KomatiChicago$143K
- Veena RaijiChicago$69K
- Jeffrey ParnellChicago$27K
- Paulpoj ChiranandChicago$17K
- Henry FengChicago$16K
- Shaun IttiaraChicago$9K
- Sarah SyedaChicago$6K
- Saagar PanditChicago$6K
- Daniel BalikovChicago$3K
- John WilguckiChicago$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.