Small-molecule drug lookup by exact drug name or ChEMBL ID. Query MUST be a single drug name or ID — 1 to 3 words maximum. Valid examples: 'sotorasib', 'imatinib', 'ibrutinib', 'CHEMBL25', 'AMG 510'. If the topic is 'sotorasib KRAS G12C', the correct query is 'sotorasib'. If the topic is 'BTK inhibitors in CLL', search PubMed first to get a specific drug name, then query ChEMBL with that name. Strip protein names, mutation labels, and mechanism words — pass only the compound name.
Query the ChEMBL database for drug-like molecules, drug targets, and bioactivity data. ChEMBL is EBI's open database of drug discovery and medicinal chemistry.
ChEMBL searches by molecule name. Always use a specific drug name or compound identifier (e.g. sotorasib, ibrutinib, CHEMBL1873475). Do NOT pass topic phrases like "kinase inhibitor resistance" — these will return garbage results. If the topic mentions multiple drugs, pick the most specific one.
Do NOT use ChEMBL when the query is any of the following — it will return large biologics, cell therapy entries, or protein records with MW=?, logP=?, phase=-1:
Correct workflow for mechanism-based topics (e.g. PROTAC, degrader, proximity):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/chembl_search.py --query "aspirin"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/chembl_search.py --chembl-id CHEMBL25
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/chembl_search.py --query "imatinib" --format detailed
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/chembl_search.py --query "kinase inhibitor" --max-results 5
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
--query | Compound or drug name or search term | - |
--chembl-id | ChEMBL molecule ID (e.g. CHEMBL25) | - |
--max-results | Max results for search | 10 |
--format | Output: summary, detailed, json | summary |