trials_search
Search ClinicalTrials.gov for clinical studies by condition, intervention/drug, sponsor, recruitment status, and/or location. Returns each trial's NCT id, title, status, conditions, lead sponsor, phase, and study type.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/trials-search.md
What trials_search does on Livedatalink
AI agents call trials_search to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
term | string | — | General search term. |
limit | number | — | Max rows (default 10, max 50). |
status | string | — | Recruitment status, e.g. 'RECRUITING', 'COMPLETED', 'TERMINATED'. |
sponsor | string | — | Sponsor/organization, e.g. 'Pfizer'. |
location | string | — | Location, e.g. 'Houston' or 'Texas'. |
condition | string | — | Disease/condition, e.g. 'breast cancer'. |
intervention | string | — | Drug/intervention, e.g. 'semaglutide'. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why trials_search is rated Low
This tool retrieves and queries publicly available clinical trial information without any side effects, data modification, code execution, or financial transactions. It is a standard read-only search operation with minimal risk if misused by an AI agent—the worst outcome would be unnecessary API consumption or information gathering about clinical trials.
From the tool's definition Tool performs a 'Search' operation on ClinicalTrials.gov and 'Returns' trial metadata (NCT id, title, status, conditions, sponsor, phase, study type). No modification, deletion, execution, or financial operations are described.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs trials_search safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For trials_search, this is the rule to start with:
trials_search is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every trials_search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about trials_search
Search ClinicalTrials.gov for clinical studies by condition, intervention/drug, sponsor, recruitment status, and/or location. Returns each trial's NCT id, title, status, conditions, lead sponsor, phase, and study type. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
trials_search accepts 7 parameters: term, limit, status, sponsor, location, condition, intervention. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for trials_search: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
trials_search is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the trials_search rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for trials_search. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
trials_search is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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