Search the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (IUPHAR/BPS) — an expert-curated pharmacology database — for drug ligands by name. Returns matching ligands with their GtoPdb ligand id, type (e.g. Synthetic organic, Peptide, Antibody, Metabolite), and approval status. Use the returned ligand id with ligand_inter...
AI agents call search_ligands to retrieve information from Guidetopharmacology without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | Yes | Ligand name or fragment to search for, e.g. "aspirin" or "imatinib". |
limit | number | — | Max results to return (default 15). |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
search_ligands performs a query against the IUPHAR/BPS pharmacology database to retrieve ligand information (name, ID, type, approval status). This is a straightforward read operation that retrieves existing data without any modification, execution, or destructive capability.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Search[es]...for drug ligands by name' and 'Returns matching ligands' — pure information retrieval with no side effects. The word 'Search' and 'Returns' confirm read-only querying.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Search the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (IUPHAR/BPS) — an expert-curated pharmacology database — for drug ligands by name. Returns matching ligands with their GtoPdb ligand id, type (e.g. Synthetic organic, Peptide, Antibody, Metabolite), and approval status. Use the returned ligand id with ligand_interactions to find which protein targets it acts on. Keyless. Complements ChEMBL/DrugBank. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Guidetopharmacology MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
search_ligands accepts 2 parameters: name, limit. Required: name. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Guidetopharmacology MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_ligands: 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 Guidetopharmacology. Nothing to install.
search_ligands 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 search_ligands 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 search_ligands. 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.
search_ligands is provided by the Guidetopharmacology MCP server (pipeworx-io/mcp-guidetopharmacology). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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