ChEMBL
Science Data No key
AuthenticationNo key
Rate limitNo published hard limit; results are paginated, keep requests modest.
Documentation: www.ebi.ac.uk ยท Checked Sep 13, 2026
About
ChEMBL is a carefully curated database from the European Bioinformatics Institute covering bioactive, drug-like molecules. Its free API lets you search millions of compounds, see which biological targets they act on, and view lab measurements like IC50 values. No key is needed, and it is a go-to resource for drug discovery research.
Details
No key needed. You can call it right away.
Auth: No key
Rate limit: No published hard limit; results are paginated, keep requests modest.
Verified: 2026-09-13
Best for: personal developer
Setup
- Open the interactive docs page in your browser to try endpoints live.
- Paste the example URL to see molecule records instantly, no signup needed.
- Add Django-style filters to the URL, e.g. pref_name__icontains=aspirin, to search.
- Follow the pagination links in responses to page through large results.
Example
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/molecule.json?limit=5Use cases
- Find compounds tested against a specific protein target with potency data
- Look up what diseases a known drug is used for and how it works
- Compare similar molecules by structure for a student chemistry project