openFDA Drug Labels Scraper

openFDA Drug Labels Scraper

Scrape drug labels from the openFDA API, up to a million per run. Every label comes with its indications, warnings, dosage, and active ingredients. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The openFDA API needs an API key and rate-limits you. This reads the public drug label endpoints directly, filtered by any openFDA search expression, and returns each match in one fixed schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape openFDA for
Pharmacovigilance analysts	Monitoring label changes for safety signals
Pharma competitive intelligence teams	Comparing competitor drug labels and indications
Healthcare data engineers	Building drug information databases
Regulatory affairs professionals	Tracking FDA-approved labeling updates
Clinical researchers	Extracting dosage and administration details

What it does

This Actor collects drug labels from the openFDA API by search query, and returns each one as a flat row.

• 🔍 Search by any openFDA expression: filter by brand name, generic name, manufacturer, or any indexed field.
• 📄 Full label text: indications, warnings, dosage, adverse reactions, and more.
• ⚙️ Flexible output: flat rows ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export.
• 🚀 High volume: up to 1,000,000 labels per run for paid users.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with openFDA data

📊 Monitor label changes.

A pharmacovigilance team runs the Actor weekly with a search for their drug portfolio and reviews any updated warnings or indications.

🔬 Build a drug database.

A healthcare data engineer scrapes all labels for a therapeutic class and loads them into a structured database for downstream applications.

📈 Competitive analysis.

A pharma analyst extracts labels for competitor products and compares indications, dosage forms, and safety information.

📑 Regulatory submissions.

A regulatory affairs specialist pulls current labels to support a submission or response to an FDA query.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key required	The Actor handles authentication and rate limits for you.
Structured data	Each label is returned as a flat row with consistent fields.
Scalable	From a 10-label preview to a million-label production run.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on drug labels only, while the competitors below cover broader FDA datasets or different aspects of FDA data.

Feature	ParseForge	Clinical Trials & FDA Pipeline Intelligence Scraper	FDA Recall Intelligence - Drug, Device & Food	FDA Intelligence - Recalls, Approvals & Adverse Events
Drug labels	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Search by openFDA expression	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
No API key required	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Up to 1,000,000 records per run	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Clinical trial data	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Recall data	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Adverse events	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a single openFDA search expression, and the maxItems limit controls how many labels are returned. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the openFDA Drug Labels Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to openFDA through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/openfda-drug-labels-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your search expression. It must be a valid openFDA query. Try a simple query like openfda.brand_name:tylenol to test.

Why am I getting only 10 results?

Free users are limited to 10 items. Upgrade to a paid plan to increase maxItems.

Why is my search expression returning an error?

Make sure the field name and value are correct. Refer to the openFDA documentation for valid fields and syntax.

Can I get more than 1,000,000 labels?

The maximum is 1,000,000 per run. If you need more, consider splitting your search into multiple runs.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is openFDA?	openFDA is a public API from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that provides access to FDA datasets, including drug labels, adverse events, and recalls.
Do I need an API key to use this Actor?	No. The Actor uses the public openFDA endpoints and does not require an API key.
What is a search expression?	A search expression is an openFDA query string, such as openfda.brand_name:tylenol. You can use any field and operator supported by openFDA.
How many labels can I scrape?	Free users can scrape up to 10 labels as a preview. Paid users can set maxItems up to 1,000,000.
What fields are returned for each label?	The Actor returns a flat row with fields from the openFDA drug label endpoint, including indications, warnings, dosage, active ingredients, and more.
Can I filter by manufacturer?	Yes, you can use a search expression like openfda.manufacturer_name:"Pfizer" to filter by manufacturer.
Can I get labels for a specific brand name?	Yes, use a search expression like openfda.brand_name:tylenol to get labels for that brand.
What output formats are supported?	You can export the results to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset.
Is the data from the official FDA source?	Yes, the data comes directly from the openFDA API, which is maintained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Can I schedule this Actor to run regularly?	Yes, you can set up a schedule in Apify to run the Actor at any interval.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.