Gwenesta Melton
Rheumatology · Fayetteville, NCNPI 1780697326
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $259,128 of the $410,415 with a category attached, or 63.1%. 29 manufacturers reported payments, led by Amgen at 24.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $176,612 and has fallen 77.5% since, to $39,773 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in NC 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 711 payments — averaging $577.24 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$101K
- AbbVie$83K
- Sanofi$80K
- UCB, Inc.$51K
- Pfizer$25K
- Novartis$22K
- plus $49K from 23 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$68,10117%
- Speaking & faculty fees$259,12863%
- Grants$2400%
- Travel & lodging$63,54815%
- Food & beverage$19,3495%
- Education$500%
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) | 132 | $100,954 |
| AbbVie | 143 | $83,239 |
| Sanofi | 83 | $79,565 |
| UCB, Inc. | 66 | $50,593 |
| Pfizer | 76 | $25,069 |
| Novartis | 30 | $21,535 |
| Gilead | 22 | $15,215 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 36 | $8,910 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 21 | $8,712 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 32 | $5,620 |
| Sobi, Inc | 9 | $4,547 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 6 | $3,237 |
| Eli Lilly | 2 | $1,398 |
| GSK | 11 | $481 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 5 | $331 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $235 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 13 | $206 |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $195 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $146 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $42 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 2 | $36 |
| Merck | 2 | $29 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $27 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $19 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $15 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, 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
$410,415 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 210 rheumatology providers in North Carolina.
Other rheumatology in Fayetteville
- Sanjay GargFayetteville$10K
- Gordon LamCharlotte$2.7M
- Ralph SnydermanDurham$1.3M
- Wendy SimmonsWilmington$462K
- Andrew LasterCharlotte$421K
- Ana RossRaleigh$417K
- Joseph ShanahanDurham$407K
- Jill ZouzoulasCharlotte$377K
- Jill VargoAsheville$245K
- Robert HolmesPollocksville$215K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.