# FDA Inactive Ingredients Search — IID (`quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search`) Actor

Search FDA's current Inactive Ingredients Database for ingredient, route, dosage-form, CAS, UNII and potency data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Piven Core](https://apify.com/quartz_apple_dnx) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 fda inactive ingredients search — iid results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## FDA Inactive Ingredients Search — IID

Search the current FDA **Inactive Ingredients Database (IID)** download and return structured formulation-reference rows.

**Independent tool. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).**

### Why use it

Useful for formulation/excipient research, route and dosage-form comparisons, CAS/UNII lookups, regulatory-development research, and repeatable IID data pipelines.

### Common use cases

- Research inactive ingredients and excipients by name
- Compare route and dosage-form records
- Look up CAS numbers, UNIIs, and published potency values
- Build repeatable formulation and regulatory-reference datasets

### Try it

```json
{"ingredientContains":"lactose","maxRows":25}
```

### Output

Each row includes inactive ingredient, route, dosage form, CAS number, UNII, potency amount/unit when present, raw source columns, source freshness, and capture time.

### Pricing

Private candidate pricing: **$0.001 per returned IID row ($1 per 1,000)**. Only returned IID rows are billable.

### Official source

`https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/inactive-ingredients-database-download`

### Important limitations

Presence in IID does not by itself establish that an excipient level is safe, acceptable, or approvable for a new product. This is a research/data-access tool, not medical, toxicology, formulation, or regulatory advice.

### About Piven Core

Built and maintained by **Piven Core**.

Learn more: https://pivencore.com

# Actor input Schema

## `ingredientContains` (type: `string`):

Example: lactose. FDA's own search recommends at least three characters for ingredient-name searches.

## `routeContains` (type: `string`):

Input for Route contains.

## `dosageFormContains` (type: `string`):

Input for Dosage form contains.

## `casNumber` (type: `string`):

Input for CAS number.

## `unii` (type: `string`):

Input for UNII.

## `maxRows` (type: `integer`):

Input for Maximum rows.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "ingredientContains": "lactose",
  "maxRows": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "ingredientContains": "lactose"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "ingredientContains": "lactose" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "ingredientContains": "lactose"
}' |
apify call quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,quartz_apple_dnx/fda-inactive-ingredients-search"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/9YrmpNTNq3tZIaocx/builds/RdcQ3SdEEjpr2f0qj/openapi.json