Melchiore Vernace, MD
Nephrology · Doylestown, PANPI 1992765549
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 94.5% of the total across 247 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 30 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 16.3% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,190, 3.5 times the $336 reported in 2019.
Across 247 payments — averaging $23.40 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$941
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$473
- Bayer$414
- Amgen$411
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$366
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$327
- plus $3K from 24 others
Across 70 payments — averaging $3248.68 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.
- GSK$141K
- AstraZeneca$52K
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$28K
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$6K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1683%
- Food & beverage$5,46395%
- Education$1483%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 39 | $941 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 28 | $473 |
| Bayer | 18 | $414 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 19 | $411 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 14 | $366 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 15 | $327 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 9 | $248 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 12 | $243 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 9 | $222 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 9 | $221 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 9 | $215 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 7 | $201 |
| Biomerieux Inc | 2 | $181 |
| Novartis | 7 | $179 |
| Novo Nordisk | 7 | $158 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 8 | $157 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 3 | $123 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 6 | $119 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 4 | $107 |
| GSK | 3 | $87 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 4 | $82 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $54 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $36 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 2 | $35 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $23 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- LOKELMA$102
How this compares
$5,779 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 586 nephrology providers in Pennsylvania.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 226 | $214,784 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 24 | $31,511 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 27 | $27,390 |
| Eplerenone | 62 | $12,888 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 11 | $3,989 |
| Spironolactone | 267 | $3,287 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 27 | $2,950 |
| Tacrolimus | 18 | $2,320 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 12 | $1,607 |
| Losartan Potassium | 106 | $1,438 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 79 | $1,343 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 74 | $1,329 |
| Torsemide | 70 | $1,043 |
| Valsartan | 25 | $980 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 154 | $952 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $941 | $214,784226 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $414 | $31,51124 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $248 | $27,39027 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 85th percentile of 586 nephrology providers in Pennsylvania.
Other nephrology in Doylestown
- Daniel LinDoylestown$7K
- Nelson KopytAllentown$949K
- Christopher GislerPittsburgh$757K
- Rakesh GulatiPhiladelphia$657K
- Raymond TownsendPhiladelphia$357K
- Prince AnandDanville$331K
- Ellie KelepourisPhiladelphia$287K
- Jonathan DiamondHarrisburg$249K
- Abdallahsassine GearaPhiladelphia$225K
- Khaled NasharPittsburgh$198K
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.