Freemu Varghese, MD
Nephrology · Houston, TXNPI 1467438614
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (44.4%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 34 manufacturers reported payments, led by Amgen at 56.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $11,712 and has fallen 87.8% since, to $1,433 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in TX 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 481 payments — averaging $83.31 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$23K
- Sobi, Inc$6K
- AstraZeneca$2K
- Corcept Therapeutics$2K
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$2K
- Novo Nordisk AS$1K
- plus $5K from 28 others
Across 125 payments — averaging $2180.52 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.
- Amgen$106K
- AstraZeneca$82K
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$59K
- AbbVie$13K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$6K
- Novo Nordisk AS$4K
- plus $3K from 1 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4,60211%
- Speaking & faculty fees$17,79544%
- Travel & lodging$4,23611%
- Food & beverage$12,83432%
- Education$6052%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 125 | $22,807 |
| Sobi, Inc | 7 | $5,579 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 54 | $2,067 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 75 | $1,991 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 41 | $1,757 |
| Novo Nordisk AS | 4 | $1,281 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 32 | $1,001 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 34 | $481 |
| Bayer | 15 | $430 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 12 | $310 |
| Novo Nordisk | 9 | $279 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 6 | $240 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 5 | $231 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 12 | $211 |
| GSK | 4 | $204 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 4 | $162 |
| Novartis | 5 | $155 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 4 | $149 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $143 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $96 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 4 | $69 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $59 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $59 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $44 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 2 | $44 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $37 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $14 |
| Outset Medical Inc | 1 | $12 |
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
$40,073 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| KorlymMifepristone | 62 | $1,606,630 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 13 | $26,100 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 20 | $24,912 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 21 | $22,711 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 19 | $17,713 |
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 15 | $17,349 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 11 | $13,517 |
| EliquisApixaban | 13 | $7,344 |
| Xigduo XrDapaglifloz Propaned/Metformin | 17 | $6,756 |
| Paricalcitol | 36 | $4,317 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 21 | $1,481 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 74 | $1,156 |
| Doxazosin Mesylate | 44 | $871 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 35 | $617 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 14 | $561 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Corcept TherapeuticsKorlym | $1,991 | $1,606,63062 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $279 | $43,81332 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $96 | $24,91220 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $2,067 | $22,71121 claims |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $481 | $17,34915 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $430 | $13,51711 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 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in Houston
- Sreedhar MandayamHouston$752K
- Christopher KwohHouston$467K
- Wolfgang WinkelmayerHouston$462K
- Namrata GoelHouston$426K
- Dana MitchellHouston$344K
- Ramachandra MalyaHouston$312K
- John ForingerHouston$215K
- Biruh WorkenehHouston$185K
- Horacio AdrogueHouston$122K
- Anand SaranathanHouston$109K
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.