Timnit Tekeste, MD
Gastroenterology · Los Angeles, CANPI 1689038721
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.7% of the total across 219 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 27.6% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,162, more than ten times the $15 reported in 2019.
Across 219 payments — averaging $27.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals$816
- Johnson & Johnson$701
- Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$411
- Pfizer$391
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$357
- plus $2K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,95499%
- Education$761%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 65 | $1,662 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 20 | $816 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 24 | $701 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 13 | $411 |
| Pfizer | 16 | $391 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 13 | $357 |
| Sanofi | 11 | $301 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 12 | $242 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 8 | $227 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $144 |
| QOL Medical, LLC | 6 | $130 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 5 | $120 |
| Celltrion USA Inc. | 4 | $103 |
| Merck | 3 | $75 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 3 | $65 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $62 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $32 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Biocon Biologics Inc | 1 | $28 |
| Sandoz | 1 | $25 |
| Albireo Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Endogastric Solutions, Inc | 1 | $15 |
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
$6,030 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 1,885 gastroenterology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 189 | $11,049 |
| CholestyramineCholestyramine (With Sugar) | 23 | $3,951 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 184 | $2,621 |
| Omeprazole | 40 | $690 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 16 | $245 |
| Famotidine | 17 | $147 |
| Spironolactone | 13 | $120 |
| Carvedilol | 12 | $20 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other gastroenterology in Los Angeles
- Bennett RothLos Angeles$2.8M
- Sammy SaabLos Angeles$1.9M
- Sadeea AbbasiLos Angeles$556K
- Gil MelmedLos Angeles$467K
- Venkataraman MuthusamyLos Angeles$297K
- Caroline HwangLos Angeles$279K
- Adarsh ThakerLos Angeles$241K
- Andres YarurLos Angeles$218K
- Joseph PisegnaLos Angeles$210K
- Steven-Huy HanLos Angeles$194K
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.