Zeenat Safdar, MD
Pulmonary Disease · Houston, TXNPI 1669532891
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $217,755 of the $291,118 with a category attached, or 74.8%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. at 40.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $71,083 and has fallen 59.0% since, to $29,152 in 2025. Among pulmonary disease clinicians in TX 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 476 payments — averaging $611.59 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$118K
- United Therapeutics Corporation$98K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$56K
- Merck$6K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$6K
- Bayer$4K
- plus $4K from 19 others
Across 175 payments — averaging $8049.49 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.
- United Therapeutics Corporation$576K
- Merck$438K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$123K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$123K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$103K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$28K
- plus $18K from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$35,53812%
- Speaking & faculty fees$217,75575%
- Travel & lodging$23,6028%
- Food & beverage$14,1075%
- Education$1160%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 115 | $117,578 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 155 | $97,605 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 78 | $56,083 |
| Merck | 18 | $6,181 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd | 21 | $6,085 |
| Bayer | 14 | $4,061 |
| Gilead | 3 | $1,785 |
| GSK | 12 | $278 |
| Insmed, Inc. | 8 | $251 |
| Sandoz | 10 | $194 |
| Liquidia Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $162 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $116 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 6 | $114 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 4 | $109 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $73 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $71 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 3 | $67 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $62 |
| Inogen, Inc. | 4 | $61 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 2 | $57 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $45 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $28 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Pharming Healthcare, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 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
$291,118 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 904 pulmonary disease providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OpsumitMacitentan | 445 | $5,583,738 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 183 | $3,890,556 |
| OfevNintedanib Esylate | 259 | $3,142,973 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 115 | $1,602,209 |
| Tyvaso DpiTreprostinil | 61 | $1,438,687 |
| Orenitram ErTreprostinil Diolamine | 131 | $821,375 |
| LetairisAmbrisentan | 58 | $764,493 |
| WinrevairSotatercept-Csrk | 44 | $634,119 |
| AdcircaTadalafil | 49 | $374,282 |
| Pirfenidone | 72 | $251,552 |
| Ambrisentan | 55 | $169,581 |
| EsbrietPirfenidone | 11 | $151,864 |
| Tadalafil | 116 | $110,539 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 70 | $61,358 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 100 | $52,309 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Opsumit, Uptravi | $117,578 | $9,474,294628 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimOfev | $56,083 | $3,142,973259 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $4,061 | $1,602,209115 claims |
| GileadLetairis | $1,785 | $764,49358 claims |
| MerckWinrevair | $6,181 | $634,11944 claims |
| United Therapeutics CorporationAdcirca | $97,605 | $374,28249 claims |
| Genentech USA, Inc.Esbriet | $114 | $151,86411 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $278 | $113,666170 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $73 | $46,37442 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $62 | $10,92733 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 904 pulmonary disease providers in Texas.
Other pulmonary disease in Houston
- Nicola HananiaHouston$1.3M
- Sandeep SahayHouston$378K
- Howard HuangHouston$194K
- Brandy McKelvyHouston$168K
- Alexander StadnykHouston$158K
- Lisa KopasHouston$120K
- Sandeep GuptaHouston$118K
- Roberto CasalHouston$113K
- Dileep PuppalaHouston$108K
- Phuongdung NguyenHouston$95K
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.