# Fast OpenFDA Scraper — Drug Recalls & FAERS (`rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper`) Actor

Ultra-fast FDA pharmaceutical and drug safety intelligence scraper. Extract FDA drug recalls (Class I, II, III), adverse event safety signals (FAERS), NDC drug approvals, and manufacturer details without browser bloat.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Hector](https://apify.com/rbbscrap) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.90 / 1,000 fda adverse event / drug recall extracteds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## 💊 Fast OpenFDA Scraper — Drug Recalls, Adverse Events & Approvals

> ### 🎁 Free Tier: Extract up to 1,000 items 100% FREE!
>
> **No credit card required • Powered by Apify Free Plan**
>
> Every Apify user receives **$5.00 in free starter credits every month**!
> You can test and extract up to **1,000 records 100% free** with this scraper before paying anything.
>
> [![Free Trial](https://img.shields.io/badge/🎁%20Free%20Tier-100%20to%201%2C000%20Items%20Free-brightgreen?style=for-the-badge\&logo=apify)](https://apify.com/rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper/input)
> [![Monthly Free Credits](https://img.shields.io/badge/Apify%20Free%20Plan-%245%2FMonth%20Included-blue?style=for-the-badge\&logo=cashapp)](https://apify.com/rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper/input)
> [![No Credit Card](https://img.shields.io/badge/No%20Credit%20Card-Zero%20Risk-purple?style=for-the-badge)](https://apify.com/rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper/input)
>
> 👉 [**Click here to Launch a Free Test Run with 1 Click (Pre-filled)**](https://apify.com/rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper/input)

An enterprise-grade, ultra-fast **FDA Pharmaceutical & Drug Safety Scraper** powered by the official openFDA regulatory databases. Extract high-ticket **Drug Recalls (Class I, II, III)**, **FAERS Adverse Events**, and **NDC Prescription Approvals** with zero browser overhead on 256MB RAM.

***

### 🚀 Key Advantages Over Competitors

| Feature | Legacy Competitors (`scrapers_lat`, `benthepythondev`) | **Fast OpenFDA Scraper** (Ours) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Data Scope** | Food recalls only OR limited drug text | **3-in-1: Drug Recalls, FAERS Events & NDC Approvals** |
| **Recall Classification** | Flat text | **Class I (Fatal/Life-Threatening), Class II & III filtering** |
| **Safety Signals (FAERS)** | Unstructured | **Structured MedDRA terms, hospitalization & fatality flags** |
| **Performance** | Slow / frequent timeouts | **Sub-second REST execution on 256MB RAM** |
| **Resilience** | Breaks on API maintenance | **100% Guaranteed Non-Empty Output (Verified Baseline)** |
| **Proxy Overhead** | Often requires heavy residential proxies | **Zero proxy required (openFDA compliant) with optional Apify Proxy** |

***

### 💼 High-Value Use Cases

- **Pharmacovigilance & Safety Monitoring**: Track real-time post-market drug reactions and adverse event trends.
- **Pharma Due Diligence & Investment**: Hedge funds and biotech analysts monitor FDA enforcement actions and recall velocity.
- **Mass Tort & Legal Research**: Class-action legal firms identify Class I drug defects and injury reports.
- **Supply Chain & Generic Drug Clearance**: Validate NDC registration status, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), and manufacturer details.

***

### 📥 Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `mode` | String | `"recalls"` | Choose from: `"recalls"`, `"adverse_events"`, or `"ndc_directory"`. |
| `searchQuery` | String | `"Ozempic"` | Drug brand name, active substance, or recalling firm. |
| `classification` | String | `"all"` | Filter by hazard class (`"Class I"`, `"Class II"`, `"Class III"`). |
| `seriousness` | String | `"all"` | Filter adverse events (`"all"`, `"serious_only"`, `"fatalities_only"`). |
| `maxItems` | Number | `30` | Maximum number of records to return. |

***

### 📤 Sample Output (JSON)

```json
{
  "recordType": "drug_recall",
  "identifier": "D-1178-2024",
  "title": "Metformin Hydrochloride Extended-Release Tablets, USP 500 mg",
  "firm": "Marksans Pharma Limited / Time-Cap Labs, Inc.",
  "classification": "Class I",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "details": {
    "reasonForRecall": "Presence of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) impurity detected above acceptable limits.",
    "productDescription": "Metformin Hydrochloride Extended-Release Tablets, USP 500 mg.",
    "distributionPattern": "Nationwide in the USA to wholesalers and distributors.",
    "reportDate": "2024-06-12",
    "voluntaryMandated": "Voluntary Firm Initiated"
  },
  "fdaUrl": "https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts"
}
```

***

### 🛡️ Integration & Automation

Compatible with **Zapier**, **Make.com**, **n8n**, **Airtable**, and **Google Sheets** via Apify Webhooks and REST API.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Select the FDA regulatory dataset to extract.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Filter by drug brand name, active substance, or pharmaceutical firm (e.g. Ozempic, Semaglutide, Metformin, Pfizer, Novartis).

## `classification` (type: `string`):

Filter by FDA hazard classification level.

## `seriousness` (type: `string`):

Filter adverse events by severity signal.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of FDA records to return.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy settings for high-volume enterprise pipelines.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "recalls",
  "searchQuery": "Ozempic",
  "classification": "all",
  "seriousness": "all",
  "maxItems": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "searchQuery": "Ozempic"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper").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 = { "searchQuery": "Ozempic" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper").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 '{
  "searchQuery": "Ozempic"
}' |
apify call rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rbbscrap/fast-openfda-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/mWJEFv5WQESKbGyN1/builds/hBmG37gkhAZxJhhNf/openapi.json