Renee Ellis, MD
Nephrology · Columbia, SCNPI 1134391733
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $29,145 of the $39,829 with a category attached, or 73.2%. Sanofi accounts for 86.3% of it on its own, with 30 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $12,889 and has fallen 91.6% since, to $1,078 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in SC 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 282 payments — averaging $141.24 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Sanofi$34K
- Nxstage Medical, Inc.$718
- AstraZeneca$636
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$471
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$447
- Amgen$402
- plus $3K from 25 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,5524%
- Speaking & faculty fees$29,14573%
- Travel & lodging$3,2228%
- Food & beverage$5,76914%
- Education$1420%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sanofi | 39 | $34,386 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 9 | $718 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 37 | $636 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 21 | $471 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 25 | $447 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 19 | $402 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 21 | $391 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 16 | $329 |
| Bayer | 14 | $253 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 8 | $194 |
| GSK | 10 | $178 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 8 | $177 |
| Abbott | 2 | $166 |
| Novartis | 7 | $160 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 7 | $155 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 7 | $112 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $95 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 4 | $82 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 4 | $82 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $54 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 2 | $44 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $35 |
| Hollister Incorporated | 1 | $34 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 2 | $30 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $16 |
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.
- FABRAZYME$31,185
- NXSTAGE SYSTEM ONE$418
- CardioMEMS HF System$133
How this compares
$39,829 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 180 nephrology providers in South Carolina.
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 | 66 | $52,386 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 24 | $42,419 |
| RetacritEpoetin Alfa-Epbx | 54 | $19,790 |
| ProcritEpoetin Alfa | 22 | $13,212 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 52 | $11,746 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 23 | $10,698 |
| Febuxostat | 30 | $2,398 |
| Olmesartan Medoxomil | 57 | $1,269 |
| Calcitriol | 77 | $1,120 |
| Valsartan | 27 | $1,012 |
| Lisinopril | 91 | $615 |
| Furosemide | 89 | $456 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 24 | $410 |
| Carvedilol | 35 | $324 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 38 | $295 |
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, Lokelma | $636 | $63,08489 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $391 | $42,41924 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 95th percentile of 180 nephrology providers in South Carolina.
Other nephrology in Columbia
- Niall McLaughlinColumbia$15K
- Roy MathewColumbia$10K
- Thomas WheelerColumbia$9K
- Rajeev ShenoyColumbia$8K
- Nzisa MutingaColumbia$6K
- Asha BaileyColumbia$5K
- Gregory SmithColumbia$4K
- Abdul UsmaniColumbia$4K
- Carl ShealyColumbia$4K
- David ShureColumbia$4K
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.