Certus Drug Information MCP Server

MCP server giving Claude live access to U.S. FDA drug data via the openFDA APIs, with an emphasis on drug-shortage tracking, recalls, labeling, and adverse-event reporting.


Type	MCP server
Supplier	Aditya Damerla (zesty-genius128)
Availability	GA — runnable from source (Node.js 18+) or via the public hosted endpoint
Pricing	Free / OSS (MIT). No API key required; an optional free openFDA key raises rate limits
Capabilities	Read-only — openFDA drug-endpoint queries
Verified	works · 2026-07-20
Security	caution · 2026-07-20 — MIT repo resolves (canonical aditya-damerla128/Certus_server; old owner path redirects) but stale 2025-09-03, single-maintainer; read-only openFDA, no advisories

How to install

This server is offered two ways: a hosted remote endpoint (zero install, proxied via mcp-remote) and a local stdio process you run from a clone.

Claude Code — point at the hosted endpoint (zero install):

claude mcp add --transport http certus https://certus.opensource.mieweb.org/mcp

Claude Desktop — hosted endpoint via the mcp-remote proxy (Claude Desktop has no native HTTP transport). Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Certus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://certus.opensource.mieweb.org/mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```
Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config. Config file locations: macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.
Local (self-host) — clone, install, and run the stdio server:
```
git clone https://github.com/zesty-genius128/Certus_server
cd Certus_server
npm install
```
Then register it with Claude Code (stdio — Claude launches the process itself, so no separate long-running terminal is needed; replace /path/to/Certus_server with the absolute path of your clone — e.g., $(pwd) if you are still inside it from the previous step):
```
claude mcp add --transport stdio certus -- node /path/to/Certus_server/official-mcp-server.js
```
Or the equivalent Claude Desktop entry:
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Certus": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Certus_server/official-mcp-server.js"],
      "env": { "OPENFDA_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" }
    }
  }
}
```
(OPENFDA_API_KEY is optional — omit it to use the default rate limit, or get a free key at open.fda.gov/apis/authentication.)

What it does

Exposes eight tools over the openFDA drug endpoints:

search_drug_shortages — query the FDA drug-shortage database by generic or brand name.
get_medication_profile — combined FDA label and current shortage status for a drug.
search_drug_recalls — FDA enforcement-database recall lookups.
get_drug_label_info — FDA-approved prescribing information.
analyze_drug_shortage_trends — historical shortage-pattern analysis (1–60 months).
search_adverse_events — FAERS adverse-event reports.
search_serious_adverse_events — FAERS reports filtered to serious outcomes (hospitalization, death, disability).
batch_drug_analysis — assess shortages, recalls, and risk across up to 25 drugs in one call.

Primary use cases: drug-shortage monitoring, formulary risk assessment, recall and pharmacovigilance review, batch safety screening across a drug list.

Notes

The hosted endpoint is convenient for evaluation; self-host for production or controlled-access workflows. The author notes a medical-safety caching policy — recalls and serious adverse events are fetched fresh on every call while other data is cached. Coverage is openFDA drug endpoints only (no device or food endpoints). For a drug-endpoint server with NDC resolution and manufacturer lookups, see OpenFDA MCP Server (ythalorossy); for a multi-source biomedical server, see BioMCP.

Sources

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