Nicholas Gourtzelis, MD
Nephrology · St Louis, MONPI 1790734994
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.0% of the total across 461 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 33 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 14.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among nephrology clinicians in MO 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 461 payments — averaging $19.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$1K
- Amgen$852
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$800
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$798
- AstraZeneca$743
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$576
- plus $4K from 27 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$8,70498%
- Education$1802%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 75 | $1,326 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 48 | $852 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 37 | $800 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 48 | $798 |
| AstraZeneca | 40 | $743 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 39 | $576 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 21 | $533 |
| Bayer | 24 | $443 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 13 | $355 |
| GSK | 19 | $310 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 14 | $268 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 10 | $222 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 7 | $190 |
| Novartis | 8 | $182 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 7 | $135 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 5 | $124 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 6 | $119 |
| Novo Nordisk | 5 | $103 |
| Vantive US Healthcare LLC | 2 | $101 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 4 | $98 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 5 | $97 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 3 | $85 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 4 | $77 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 5 | $76 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $75 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 2 | $31 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $27 |
| Recor Medical Inc | 1 | $25 |
| Ascendis Pharma Endocrinology Inc | 1 | $24 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$8,884 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 253 nephrology providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FilspariSparsentan | 12 | $139,792 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 21 | $68,312 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 17 | $52,073 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 32 | $30,625 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 21 | $17,353 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 15 | $11,252 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 44 | $5,095 |
| Calcitriol | 185 | $4,276 |
| Paricalcitol | 13 | $3,384 |
| Clonidine | 13 | $2,803 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 88 | $1,854 |
| Calcium Acetate | 11 | $1,794 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 16 | $1,078 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 16 | $786 |
| Losartan Potassium | 74 | $767 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc.Filspari | $533 | $139,79212 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $800 | $68,31221 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $268 | $52,07317 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $743 | $30,62532 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $443 | $17,35321 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $222 | $11,25215 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 253 nephrology providers in Missouri.
Other nephrology in St Louis
- Kevin MartinSt Louis$189K
- Bahar BastaniSt Louis$87K
- Derek LarsonCreve Coeur$605K
- Marcos RothsteinSaint Louis$350K
- Anuja JavaSaint Louis$240K
- Alejandro AlvarezFlorissant$176K
- Gary SingerSaint Peters$170K
- Daniel CoyneSaint Louis$163K
- Tarek AlhamadSaint Louis$155K
- Tingting LiSaint Louis$130K
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.