Tagbo Ekwonu, MD
Family Medicine · Charlotte, NCNPI 1093890535
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 839 payments — averaging $24.05 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Gilead$7K
- Viiv Healthcare Company$5K
- Johnson & Johnson$2K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Merck$693
- AbbVie$544
- plus $4K from 25 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,6208%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2001%
- Food & beverage$17,94189%
- Education$4212%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gilead | 237 | $7,191 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 238 | $5,038 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 78 | $1,620 |
| AstraZeneca | 63 | $1,101 |
| Merck | 35 | $693 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 29 | $544 |
| Abbott | 21 | $503 |
| Theratechnologies Inc. | 18 | $446 |
| Pfizer | 23 | $404 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 16 | $383 |
| Janssen Products, LP | 4 | $371 |
| Novartis | 2 | $219 |
| Eko Health, Inc. | 1 | $200 |
| Cranial Technologies, Inc | 12 | $195 |
| Novo Nordisk | 10 | $193 |
| Exact Sciences | 8 | $191 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 9 | $184 |
| Bayer | 8 | $150 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $122 |
| Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc | 9 | $121 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 4 | $69 |
| Hologic Sales And Service, LLC | 2 | $47 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $45 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 1 | $33 |
| Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Seqirus USA Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Mylan Institutional Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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
$20,182 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 3,444 family medicine providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BiktarvyBictegrav/Emtricit/Tenofov Ala | 274 | $1,159,739 |
| SymtuzaDarunavir/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alaf | 120 | $594,236 |
| TriumeqAbacavir/Dolutegravir/Lamivudi | 146 | $565,639 |
| GenvoyaElviteg/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alafen | 129 | $548,139 |
| PrezcobixDarunavir/Cobicistat | 103 | $270,914 |
| JulucaDolutegravir/Rilpivirine | 68 | $251,114 |
| TivicayDolutegravir Sodium | 72 | $180,984 |
| DescovyEmtricitabine/Tenofov Alafenam | 60 | $145,852 |
| RukobiaFostemsavir Tromethamine | 11 | $105,632 |
| Egrifta SvTesamorelin Acetate | 12 | $83,370 |
| CompleraEmtricita/Rilpivirine/Tenof Df | 15 | $55,001 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 37 | $49,439 |
| DovatoDolutegravir Sodium/Lamivudine | 12 | $40,949 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 31 | $30,695 |
| EliquisApixaban | 28 | $28,521 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GileadBiktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy | $7,191 | $1,853,730463 claims |
| Viiv Healthcare CompanyTriumeq, Juluca, Tivicay, Rukobia, Dovato | $5,038 | $1,144,318309 claims |
| Janssen Products, LPSymtuza | $371 | $594,236120 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonPrezcobix, Complera, Xarelto | $1,620 | $356,611149 claims |
| Theratechnologies Inc.Egrifta Sv | $446 | $83,37012 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $193 | $49,43937 claims |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLCPrezista, Edurant | $33 | $42,70722 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $1,101 | $29,62247 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $404 | $28,52128 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $544 | $19,00222 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $693 | $18,65411 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $184 | $12,19312 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 3,444 family medicine providers in North Carolina.
Other family medicine in Charlotte
- George RaadCharlotte$7.7M
- Steven BauerCharlotte$2.7M
- Melissa JonesCharlotte$1.8M
- Laura LuptonCharlotte$811K
- Kevin SodenCharlotte$558K
- Joseph KonenCharlotte$322K
- Thomas BarringerCharlotte$305K
- Richard RachimaCharlotte$294K
- Dimitrios HondrosCharlotte$275K
- Jewell CarrCharlotte$164K
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.