Graham Towns, MD
Nephrology · Birmingham, ALNPI 1639324825
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.8% of the total across 148 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 26 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.4% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,716, more than ten times the $101 reported in 2020.
Across 148 payments — averaging $22.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$633
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$309
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$308
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$258
- AstraZeneca$220
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$210
- plus $1K from 20 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $21,581 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.
- Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$151K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,22699%
- Education$411%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 30 | $633 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 14 | $309 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 22 | $308 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 11 | $258 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 10 | $220 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 6 | $210 |
| Amgen | 9 | $189 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $154 |
| Novartis | 5 | $149 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 7 | $144 |
| Bayer | 5 | $127 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $77 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 3 | $72 |
| Vantive US Healthcare LLC | 2 | $55 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $53 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $46 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $40 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $38 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Merck | 1 | $27 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $24 |
| Renalytix AI, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 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.
- ACTHAR$101
How this compares
$3,266 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 164 nephrology providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 49 | $32,191 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 58 | $31,730 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 19 | $14,622 |
| Prednisone | 210 | $1,700 |
| Tacrolimus | 14 | $1,310 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 185 | $1,293 |
| Carvedilol | 102 | $1,058 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 89 | $1,024 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 35 | $776 |
| Labetalol Hcl | 14 | $727 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 36 | $563 |
| Losartan Potassium | 78 | $525 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 25 | $491 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 81 | $471 |
| Calcitriol | 21 | $459 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $40 | $32,19149 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $27 | $14,62219 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 60th percentile of 164 nephrology providers in Alabama.
Other nephrology in Birmingham
- Dana RizkBirmingham$196K
- Eric WallaceBirmingham$172K
- David WarnockBirmingham$128K
- Michal MrugBirmingham$73K
- Vineeta KumarBirmingham$59K
- Ashita TolwaniBirmingham$56K
- Song Ching OngBirmingham$36K
- Orlando GutierrezBirmingham$26K
- Ammar AlmehmiBirmingham$26K
- Jared CookBirmingham$25K
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.