Santosh Kesari, MD
Neurology · Santa Monica, CANPI 1891785960
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $348,589 of the $397,367 with a category attached, or 87.7%. Icad, Inc accounts for 64.6% of it on its own, with 55 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $132,241 and has fallen 87.5% since, to $16,551 in 2025. Among neurology clinicians in CA 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 147 payments — averaging $2703.18 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Icad, Inc$257K
- Partner Therapeutics, Inc.$86K
- Jubilant Therapeutics Inc$45K
- AstraZeneca$2K
- Geistlich Pharma, North America, Inc.$2K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$1K
- plus $4K from 50 others
Across 385 payments — averaging $3181.28 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.
- Incyte Corporation$500K
- Bavarian Nordic A/s$145K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$137K
- Blue Earth Diagnostics$122K
- Novocure Inc.$56K
- Bristol Myers Squibb$51K
- plus $213K from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$348,58988%
- Speaking & faculty fees$45,00011%
- Food & beverage$3,7081%
- Education$700%
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.
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.
- AXXENT SURFACE CONTROLLER$184,500
- Leukine$85,950
- Axxent Controller$72,000
- KOSELUGO$2,148
- Optune$170
- GammaTile$150
- Oncology$149
- Auvelity$144
- XPOVIO$119
- INTRABEAM$118
- IORT$118
- TAZVERIK$111
- CODMAN CERTAS$105
- CUSA CLARITY$105
- DURAGEN$105
- DURASEAL EXACT$105
- CODMAN HAKIM PRECISION VALVE$105
How this compares
$397,367 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,996 neurology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gammagard LiquidImmun Glob G(Igg)/Gly/Iga Ov50 | 33 | $353,327 |
| GammaplexImmun Glob G(Igg)/Gly/Iga 0-50 | 18 | $180,374 |
| LeukineSargramostim | 48 | $169,133 |
| TasignaNilotinib Hcl | 13 | $131,154 |
| Levetiracetam | 23 | $799 |
| Dexamethasone | 18 | $376 |
| Hydrocortisone | 13 | $329 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 11 | $115 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 17 | $86 |
| Propranolol Hcl | 17 | $83 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Partner Therapeutics, Inc.Leukine | $86,060 | $169,13348 claims |
| NovartisTasigna | $72 | $131,15413 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 1,996 neurology providers in California.
Other neurology in Santa Monica
- David KudrowSanta Monica$532K
- Andrew WooSanta Monica$273K
- Danny BenmosheSanta Monica$268K
- Andrew BlumenfeldCarlsbad$4.9M
- Khashayar DashtipourLoma Linda$3.3M
- Regina BerkovichWest Hollywood$3M
- Daniel BandariNewport Beach$2.6M
- Perry ShiehLos Angeles$2.4M
- Sandeep ThakkarIrvine$2M
- David LiebeskindLos Angeles$1.9M
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.