# FDA Drug Adverse Events & Side Effects (openFDA) (`scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events`) Actor Look up reported side effects and adverse events for any drug from the FDA's FAERS database via openFDA. Get the top reported reactions for a drug, or individual adverse-event reports with reactions, seriousness and outcome. No API key needed. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events.md - **Developed by:** [Ken M](https://apify.com/scrapemint) (community) - **Categories:** Business, Education - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## FDA Drug Adverse Events & Side Effects (openFDA) What side effects do people actually report for a drug? This actor answers that from the FDA's own **FAERS** database (the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System) via the official openFDA API. No API key, no login, no browser. ### Two modes **Top reactions (summary)** - the best starting point. For each drug, a ranked list of the most reported reactions with how many reports mention each and its share of the drug's reports: ```json { "drugs": ["OZEMPIC"], "mode": "reactions", "topReactions": 25 } ```` Example output: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, decreased appetite... each with a report count. **Individual reports** - one row per adverse-event report, with: - the reactions reported and their outcome (recovered, fatal, ongoing...) - seriousness (death, hospitalization, disability, life-threatening) - patient sex and age, reporter type (physician, pharmacist, consumer...) - country and the other drugs listed in the same report - the FDA report ID ### Filters - **seriousOnly** - only serious events - **country** - events in one country (US, GB, CA...) - **sinceYear** - only reports from a year onward ### Who uses this - **Pharma, biotech and medical-device companies**: pharmacovigilance and competitive safety monitoring - what is being reported about a drug and its competitors. - **Researchers and universities**: study real-world drug safety signals with structured data. - **Health, legal and insurance analysts**: assess reported harm and outcomes for a drug. - **Journalists and patient advocates**: see what the FDA's reporting system actually contains. ### Important context - Source: FDA FAERS via openFDA (public US government data). Reports are **voluntary and unverified** - an adverse event report does **not** mean the drug caused the effect, and counts are influenced by how widely a drug is used and reported. This data supports signal-spotting, not conclusions about causation or safety. - The keyless openFDA limit is 1,000 requests/day per IP (shared here). Add your own free openFDA API key to raise it to 120,000/day; it stays private to your run. ### Pricing A small fee per row. Unknown drugs and requests blocked by the daily limit are free note rows, and the first 2 rows of every run are free. # Actor input Schema ## `drugs` (type: `array`): Drug names to look up, one per line ("OZEMPIC", "LIPITOR", "ADDERALL"). Brand or generic names both work. Matched against the reported medicinal product. ## `mode` (type: `string`): Top reactions = a ranked list of the most reported side effects for each drug (best starting point). Individual reports = one row per adverse-event report with full detail. ## `seriousOnly` (type: `boolean`): Only events flagged serious (death, hospitalization, disability, life-threatening or other serious outcome). ## `country` (type: `string`): Optional: limit to events that occurred in one country, by two-letter code ("US", "GB", "CA"). Leave empty for worldwide. ## `sinceYear` (type: `integer`): Only events received by the FDA in or after this year. 0 = no limit. ## `topReactions` (type: `integer`): Top reactions mode: how many of the most reported reactions to return per drug. ## `maxPerDrug` (type: `integer`): Individual reports mode: how many reports to return per drug (newest first). ## `apiKey` (type: `string`): Optional: your own free openFDA API key. Raises the shared daily limit (1,000 requests/day per IP) to 120,000/day. Get one free at open.fda.gov/apis/authentication. ## `maxRows` (type: `integer`): Stop after this many rows in total. ## Actor input object example ```json { "drugs": [ "OZEMPIC" ], "mode": "reactions", "seriousOnly": false, "sinceYear": 0, "topReactions": 25, "maxPerDrug": 50, "maxRows": 2000 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "drugs": [ "OZEMPIC" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "drugs": ["OZEMPIC"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "drugs": [ "OZEMPIC" ] }' | apify call scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapemint/fda-drug-adverse-events", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "FDA Drug Adverse Events & Side Effects (openFDA)", "description": "Look up reported side effects and adverse events for any drug from the FDA's FAERS database via openFDA. Get the top reported reactions for a drug, or individual adverse-event reports with reactions, seriousness and outcome. No API key needed.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "aCFpsVxOjwDWo6oFK" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrapemint~fda-drug-adverse-events/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapemint-fda-drug-adverse-events", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~fda-drug-adverse-events/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapemint-fda-drug-adverse-events", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~fda-drug-adverse-events/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrapemint-fda-drug-adverse-events", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "drugs": { "title": "Drugs", "type": "array", "description": "Drug names to look up, one per line (\"OZEMPIC\", \"LIPITOR\", \"ADDERALL\"). Brand or generic names both work. Matched against the reported medicinal product.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "mode": { "title": "What to return", "enum": [ "reactions", "reports" ], "type": "string", "description": "Top reactions = a ranked list of the most reported side effects for each drug (best starting point). Individual reports = one row per adverse-event report with full detail.", "default": "reactions" }, "seriousOnly": { "title": "Serious events only", "type": "boolean", "description": "Only events flagged serious (death, hospitalization, disability, life-threatening or other serious outcome).", "default": false }, "country": { "title": "Country", "type": "string", "description": "Optional: limit to events that occurred in one country, by two-letter code (\"US\", \"GB\", \"CA\"). Leave empty for worldwide." }, "sinceYear": { "title": "Reported since year", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 2100, "type": "integer", "description": "Only events received by the FDA in or after this year. 0 = no limit.", "default": 0 }, "topReactions": { "title": "Top reactions to return", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Top reactions mode: how many of the most reported reactions to return per drug.", "default": 25 }, "maxPerDrug": { "title": "Reports per drug", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Individual reports mode: how many reports to return per drug (newest first).", "default": 50 }, "apiKey": { "title": "openFDA API key (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional: your own free openFDA API key. Raises the shared daily limit (1,000 requests/day per IP) to 120,000/day. Get one free at open.fda.gov/apis/authentication." }, "maxRows": { "title": "Max rows", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50000, "type": "integer", "description": "Stop after this many rows in total.", "default": 2000 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```