Drug Safety Lookup (RxNorm + FDA Label, Recalls, Shortages)

Give a drug name, get one agent-ready profile: RxCUI, boxed warning, indications, recent FDA recalls and current shortage status.

Data source: RxNorm (NLM RxNav) and openFDA drug label, enforcement and shortage APIs. Official public data, no API key, no login and no scraping of protected pages. Results are returned as clean, flat JSON that is ready for spreadsheets, databases, BI tools and AI agents.

What can you use it for?

• Pharmacy and clinical decision-support prototypes
• AI agent tool for drug safety questions
• Formulary and recall monitoring
• Pharmacovigilance research
• Use it as a tool from AI agents through the Apify MCP server, or schedule it and send new results to Slack, Google Sheets or a webhook

Input

Field	Name	Description
drugs	Drug names	Generic or brand names

Example input

{
  "drugs": [
    "metformin",
    "amoxicillin"
  ]
}

Output

Each result is one dataset item with these fields: query, rxcui, labelSetId, isCombinationProduct, brandNames, genericNames, manufacturer, boxedWarning, indications, contraindications, recallCountTotal, recentRecalls, shortages, sources, checkedAt.

Example output (real result, long fields shortened)

{
  "query": "metformin",
  "rxcui": "6809",
  "labelSetId": "05999192-ebc6-4198-bd1e-f46abbfb4f8a",
  "isCombinationProduct": false,
  "brandNames": [
    "Metformin"
  ],
  "genericNames": [
    "METFORMIN ER 500 MG"
  ],
  "manufacturer": "REMEDYREPACK INC.",
  "boxedWarning": "WARNING: LACTIC ACIDOSIS Postmarketing cases of metformin-associated lactic acidosis have resulted in death, hypothermia, hypotension, and resistant bradyarrhythmias. The onset of metformin­-associated lactic acidosis is…",
  "indications": "1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE Metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets are indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults and pediatric patients 10 years of age and older with type 2…",
  "contraindications": "4 CONTRAINDICATIONS Metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets are contraindicated in patients with: • Severe renal impairment (eGFR below 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. • Hypersensitiv…",
  "recallCountTotal": 91,
  "recentRecalls": [
    {
      "recallNumber": "D-0657-2026",
      "classification": "Class II",
      "reportDate": "20260708",
      "firm": "Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.",
      "reason": "CGMP Deviations: An incorrect detergent was used and the required swab sampling was not performed on a production hopper that had previously been used for a different product."
    },
    {
      "recallNumber": "D-0328-2025",
      "classification": "Class II",
      "reportDate": "20250416",
      "firm": "Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA",
      "reason": "CGMP Deviations"
    },
    {
      "recallNumber": "D-0292-2025",
      "classification": "Class II",
      "reportDate": "20250402",
      "firm": "A-S Medication Solutions LLC",
      "reason": "Presence of Foreign Tablets/Capsules."
    },
    {
      "recallNumber": "D-0192-2025",
      "classification": "Class II",
      "reportDate": "20250115",
      "firm": "Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc.",
      "reason": "Presence of Foreign Tablets/Capsules: A Paracetamol 500 mg tablet was found in a 1000-count bottle of Metformin HCL ER Tablets USP, 500 mg."
    }
  ],
  "shortages": [
    {
      "status": "To Be Discontinued",
      "company": "Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Viatris Company",
      "presentation": "Metformin Hydrochloride, Tablet, Extended Release, 1000 mg (NDC 0378-6001-91)",
      "updated": "10/22/2026"
    },
    {
      "status": "To Be Discontinued",
      "company": "Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Viatris Company",
      "presentation": "Metformin Hydrochloride, Tablet, Extended Release, 500 mg (NDC 0378-6002-91)",
      "updated": "10/22/2026"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "RxNav (NLM)",
    "openFDA drug label/enforcement/shortages"
  ],
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-28T05:28:26.085Z"
}

Download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel or XML, or read them through the Apify API.

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay $0.02 per drug profile returned, plus standard Apify platform usage, which is small because the Actor only calls lightweight APIs. You are never charged for results that are not returned. To cap spending, set a maximum cost per run in the run options.

Tips

• Start with a small max-results value to check your filters, then scale up.
• Schedule the Actor (for example daily) with a "since" date filter where available to get change alerts.
• The data comes straight from the official source, so its freshness and completeness depend on that publisher.

Disclaimer

This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the data publisher. Verify critical decisions against the official source.