Opal Thakar, MD
Family Medicine · Long Branch, NJNPI 1659792802
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 371 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Novo Nordisk at 24.1% of the total. Among family medicine clinicians in NJ 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 371 payments — averaging $15.32 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$1K
- AbbVie$768
- AstraZeneca$711
- GSK$386
- Exact Sciences$344
- Merck$306
- plus $2K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,684100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 92 | $1,368 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 71 | $768 |
| AstraZeneca | 36 | $711 |
| GSK | 26 | $386 |
| Exact Sciences | 15 | $344 |
| Merck | 22 | $306 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 19 | $276 |
| Pfizer | 16 | $247 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 15 | $208 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 4 | $172 |
| Amgen | 11 | $168 |
| Abbott | 6 | $121 |
| Bayer | 5 | $107 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $59 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $58 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 4 | $56 |
| Dynavax Technologies Corporation | 3 | $51 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $48 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $33 |
| Novartis | 2 | $30 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $23 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 1 | $18 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 1 | $17 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $11 |
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
$5,684 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 2,084 family medicine providers in New Jersey.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 70 | $83,973 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 30 | $32,399 |
| Janumet XrSitagliptin Phos/Metformin Hcl | 44 | $31,897 |
| EliquisApixaban | 70 | $30,962 |
| JanumetSitagliptin Phos/Metformin Hcl | 19 | $23,171 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 17 | $21,587 |
| Humalog Kwikpen U-200Insulin Lispro | 18 | $9,137 |
| Victoza 2-PakLiraglutide | 13 | $7,490 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 12 | $7,406 |
| Bromocriptine Mesylate | 12 | $5,842 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 15 | $3,310 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 21 | $2,425 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 219 | $2,183 |
| Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Esters | 23 | $2,162 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 138 | $1,795 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MerckJanuvia, Janumet Xr, Janumet | $306 | $87,46893 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $1,368 | $83,97370 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $247 | $30,96270 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $711 | $21,58717 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $11 | $7,40612 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $768 | $87318 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 2,084 family medicine providers in New Jersey.
Other family medicine in Long Branch
- Martin AraujoLong Branch$17K
- Mikhail VarshavskiChatham$1.4M
- Janet ColeFar Hills$466K
- Matthew PintoMarlton$239K
- Jennifer CaudleSewell$226K
- Jeffrey LevineNew Brunswick$195K
- Jennifer AmicoNew Brunswick$159K
- Dena LacaraFairfield$122K
- Gaurang BrahmbhattHoboken$89K
- Juan LatorreHoboken$71K
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.