Howard Saal
Clinical Genetics (M.D.) · Cincinnati, OHNPI 1801827308
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (58.0%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. AstraZeneca accounts for 87.5% of it on its own, with 1 other manufacturer making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $48,891 and has fallen 95.8% since, to $2,050 in 2025. Among clinical genetics (m.d.) clinicians in OH 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 133 payments — averaging $912.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$106K
- Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.$15K
Across 108 payments — averaging $7632.64 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.
- Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.$653K
- AstraZeneca$75K
- Sanofi$49K
- QED Therapeutics, Inc.$20K
- Therachon Holding GmbH$16K
- Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.$12K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$33,03627%
- Speaking & faculty fees$70,44658%
- Travel & lodging$15,15212%
- Food & beverage$2,7222%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 125 | $106,208 |
| Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. | 8 | $15,148 |
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.
- Strensiq$37,257
- VOXZOGO 1.2mg$2,466
How this compares
$121,356 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 42 clinical genetics (m.d.) providers in Ohio.
Other clinical genetics (m.d.) in Cincinnati
- Robert HopkinCincinnati$419K
- Gregory GrabowskiCincinnati$123K
- Loren PenaCincinnati$38K
- Kathryn WeaverCincinnati$19K
- Nancy LeslieCincinnati$12K
- Angela SunCincinnati$3K
- Benjamin CocanougherCincinnati$1K
- Elizabeth SchorryCincinnati$1K
- Amelle ShillingtonCincinnati$977
- Ghada HijaziCincinnati$201
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.