Drug Information Search - FDA & Medical Database API

Search for medicines, drugs, and pharmaceutical products using official FDA databases. Get comprehensive, verified drug information including brand names, uses, side effects, warnings, active ingredients, and manufacturer details.

This Actor uses the official OpenFDA API - the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's public database - ensuring accurate, reliable, and legally-sourced medical information.

What does Drug Information Search do?

Drug Information Search is an Apify Actor that queries official FDA databases to retrieve comprehensive drug and medicine information. Unlike web scrapers, this Actor uses official government APIs, making it:

• 100% Legal - Uses only public FDA APIs
• Reliable - Data comes from official government sources
• Always Up-to-Date - Real-time queries to FDA databases
• Comprehensive - Combines data from multiple FDA endpoints

This Actor does NOT scrape websites - it directly queries FDA's official RESTful APIs.

Why use Drug Information Search?

Business Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Healthcare Research	Gather comprehensive drug information for medical research and clinical studies
Pharmacovigilance	Monitor drug safety, track adverse event reports, and identify safety signals
Pharmaceutical Competitive Analysis	Compare products, manufacturers, and formulations across the market
Regulatory Compliance	Verify drug labeling, check recall status, and ensure compliance
Patient Education Platforms	Access official medication information for health apps and portals
Healthcare Data Integration	Feed verified drug data into EHR/EMR systems and healthcare databases

Platform Advantages

When you use Drug Information Search on Apify, you get:

• API Access - Integrate drug data into your applications via REST API
• Scheduled Runs - Set up automatic periodic drug information updates
• Webhooks - Get notified when new data is available
• Export Formats - Download data as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML
• Integration Ready - Connect with Zapier, Make, n8n, and other automation platforms

How to search for drug information

1. Go to the Drug Information Search Actor on Apify Store
2. Enter a drug name (e.g., "ibuprofen", "metformin", "aspirin")
3. Select search type - search by drug name, active ingredient, manufacturer, or brand name
4. Choose data options - include adverse events, labeling info, and/or recalls
5. Click "Start" to run the Actor
6. Download your data in JSON, CSV, Excel, or other formats

What data can Drug Information Search extract?

Data Field	Description	Example
drugName	Primary drug name	IBUPROFEN
brandNames	Commercial brand names	["Advil", "Motrin", "Nurofen"]
genericName	Generic/chemical name	IBUPROFEN
activeIngredients	Active pharmaceutical ingredients	["IBUPROFEN"]
manufacturer	Company that makes the drug	Pfizer Inc.
dosageForm	Physical form of the drug	TABLET, CAPSULE
route	How the drug is administered	ORAL, TOPICAL
indications	Approved medical uses	Pain reliever, fever reducer
warnings	Safety warnings and precautions	Allergy alerts, contraindications
sideEffects	Known adverse reactions	May cause stomach bleeding...
adverseEventsCount	Total reported adverse events	208,643
recallInfo	Any recall information	Classification, reason, date
drugClass	Pharmacological classification	Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug
productNdc	National Drug Code	59779-438

Input

Drug Information Search Actor has the following input options. Click on the Input tab for more information.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
searchQuery	String	✅ Yes	ibuprofen	The drug, medicine, or active ingredient to search for
searchType	Enum	No	drugName	Type of search: drugName, activeIngredient, manufacturer, brandName
includeAdverseEvents	Boolean	No	true	Include reported adverse events count from FDA database
includeLabeling	Boolean	No	true	Include official drug labeling (uses, warnings, dosage)
includeRecalls	Boolean	No	true	Include recall information
maxResults	Integer	No	10	Maximum number of products to return (1-100)

Example Input

{
    "searchQuery": "metformin",
    "searchType": "drugName",
    "includeAdverseEvents": true,
    "includeLabeling": true,
    "includeRecalls": true,
    "maxResults": 10
}

Output

You can download the dataset extracted by Drug Information Search in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

The Actor provides three pre-configured views in the Apify Console:

1. Drug Products Overview - Quick view of drug names, brands, manufacturers
2. Detailed Drug Information - Active ingredients, uses, warnings, NDC codes
3. Side Effects & Adverse Events - Focus on safety information and recalls

Example Output

{
    "drugName": "IBUPROFEN",
    "brandNames": ["Advil", "Motrin", "Ibuprofen Dye Free"],
    "genericName": "IBUPROFEN",
    "activeIngredients": ["IBUPROFEN"],
    "manufacturer": "Pfizer Consumer Healthcare",
    "dosageForm": "TABLET",
    "route": "ORAL",
    "indications": [
        "Temporarily relieves minor aches and pains due to: headache, toothache, backache, menstrual cramps, the common cold, muscular aches, minor pain of arthritis. Temporarily reduces fever."
    ],
    "warnings": [
        "Allergy alert: Ibuprofen may cause a severe allergic reaction, especially in people allergic to aspirin.",
        "Stomach bleeding warning: This product contains an NSAID, which may cause severe stomach bleeding."
    ],
    "sideEffects": [
        "May cause a severe allergic reaction",
        "May cause stomach bleeding",
        "May cause problems in the unborn child"
    ],
    "adverseEventsCount": 208643,
    "recallInfo": [
        {
            "recallNumber": "D-727-2015",
            "status": "Terminated",
            "reason": "Penicillin Cross Contamination",
            "classification": "Class II",
            "recallDate": "20141114",
            "company": "Attix Pharmaceuticals"
        }
    ],
    "drugClass": "Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug [EPC]",
    "productNdc": "59779-438",
    "dataSource": "OpenFDA Drug Labels",
    "lastUpdated": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}

How much does it cost to search for drug information?

Drug Information Search uses Apify's pay-per-usage model based on compute units (CUs).

Scenario	Estimated Cost
Single drug search (10 products)	~$0.01-0.02
Batch of 100 drug searches	~$0.50-1.00
Large-scale research (1000+ searches)	Custom pricing available

Free tier available! New Apify users get $5 of free platform credits monthly, which is enough to run hundreds of drug searches.

The Actor is optimized for efficiency:

• Uses HTTP API calls (no browser automation)
• Minimal compute resources required
• Fast execution times (typically < 30 seconds per search)

Tips for best results

1. Use generic names for broader results (e.g., "ibuprofen" instead of "Advil")
2. Try different search types if initial results are limited - "activeIngredient" often returns the most comprehensive results
3. Check multiple brand names for the same active ingredient to compare formulations
4. Enable all data options on first run to see all available information
5. Use lower maxResults (5-10) for faster execution when you need quick lookups

Is it legal to use Drug Information Search?

Yes, absolutely! This Actor is 100% legal because:

1. Official API Usage - We use the OpenFDA API, which is a public government API designed for exactly this purpose
2. No Web Scraping - This Actor does not scrape any websites or bypass any access controls
3. Public Data Only - All data retrieved is publicly available government information
4. No Personal Data - The FDA drug database contains only drug information, not personal patient data
5. Terms Compliance - The OpenFDA API is free to use and has no restrictive terms of service

The OpenFDA API was created specifically to make FDA public data available to developers and researchers.

Data Sources

This Actor queries the following official FDA APIs:

API Endpoint	Data Provided
OpenFDA Drug Labels	Official drug labeling, indications, warnings
OpenFDA Adverse Events	Reported side effects and adverse reactions
OpenFDA Enforcement	Drug recall information
OpenFDA NDC Directory	National Drug Code product data

Limitations

• US FDA Data - Data is primarily from US FDA databases (US-approved drugs)
• Adverse Event Counts - Includes all reported events; not all may be causally related to the drug
• Older Drugs - Some older or less common drugs may have limited data
• OTC vs Prescription - OTC drugs may have less detailed labeling than prescription medications
• No Pricing Data - FDA does not track drug prices; pricing is not available

Integrations

Drug Information Search can be integrated with:

• API - Access results programmatically via Apify REST API
• Webhooks - Get notified when runs complete
• Zapier - Connect to 5,000+ apps
• Make (Integromat) - Build automated workflows
• n8n - Self-hosted automation
• LangChain - Use as a tool for AI agents
• Custom Applications - Use Apify SDK for JavaScript/Python

FAQ

What's the difference between brand name and generic name?

• Generic name is the official chemical name (e.g., "ibuprofen")
• Brand name is the commercial name (e.g., "Advil", "Motrin")

Why are some drugs not found?

The FDA database primarily contains US-approved drugs. Drugs approved only in other countries may not be available.

How current is the data?

Data is retrieved in real-time from FDA APIs, so it's as current as the FDA's own databases.

Can I search for cosmetics or skincare products?

The FDA drug database focuses on drugs and medications. Cosmetics have limited FDA regulation and data.

How do I interpret adverse event counts?

Adverse event counts represent the total number of reports submitted to FDA. Not all events are proven to be caused by the drug - they may be coincidental or related to other factors.

Support & Feedback

• Issues? Open an issue in the Issues tab
• Custom solutions? Contact us for custom drug data extraction needs
• Feature requests? We welcome feedback and suggestions

Resources

• OpenFDA API Documentation
• FDA Drug Database
• Apify Documentation
• Apify SDK for JavaScript
• Apify SDK for Python

Changelog

• v0.0: Initial release with OpenFDA integration
  • Drug label search
  • Adverse event counts
  • Recall information
  • NDC directory lookup

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This Actor provides information from official FDA sources for educational and research purposes. Always consult healthcare professionals for medical advice. This is not a substitute for professional medical guidance.