`chembl_mechanism`

Pack: chembl · Connect: https://pipeworx.io/mcp (see Connect below for a single-pack URL)

No MCP client? Call it directly: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/chembl_mechanism for the schema, then POST the same URL with its arguments for the data.

Mechanism of action of a drug, from its NAME (or a ChEMBL molecule ID). Answers “how does metformin work”, “what is the mechanism of action of X”, “what does X inhibit”, “what target does X act on”, “X mode of action”, “is X an agonist or an antagonist”, “X molecular target”. Resolves the drug name to every matching ChEMBL molecule form — the base compound together with its salts, hydrochlorides, mesylates and branded formulations — and searches all of them at once, so a drug whose pharmacology is curated on the salt form still resolves. Returns, per mechanism: action_type (INHIBITOR, AGONIST, ANTAGONIST, BLOCKER, MODULATOR, …), the mechanism_of_action sentence (e.g. “Mitochondrial complex I (NADH dehydrogenase) inhibitor”), the molecular target with its ChEMBL target ID, target name and organism, the exact molecule form the mechanism is recorded on with its preferred name, max clinical phase, curator mechanism/selectivity comments, and PubMed references. Also lists every molecule ID searched, so an empty result is interpretable. Curated pharmacology from ChEMBL (EMBL-EBI). Reach for this for pharmacology, mode of action, drug-target identification, and any “how does this drug work” question.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`drug`	string	no	Drug name, e.g. “metformin”, “imatinib”, “aspirin”. Brand, generic, or salt names all work.
`query`	string	no	Alias for drug.
`q`	string	no	Alias for drug.
`name`	string	no	Alias for drug.
`molecule_chembl_id`	string	no	Exact ChEMBL molecule ID instead of a name, e.g. “CHEMBL1431”. Salt forms of this molecule are included automatically.
`chembl_id`	string	no	Alias for molecule_chembl_id.
`candidates`	number	no	How many name-matched molecule forms to search across, 1-25 (default 10). Higher catches obscure salt forms.
`limit`	number	no	Max mechanisms returned, 1-200 (default 50).

Example call

Arguments

{
  "drug": "metformin"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/chembl/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"chembl_mechanism","arguments":{"drug":"metformin"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('chembl_mechanism', {
  "drug": "metformin"
});

More examples

{
  "molecule_chembl_id": "CHEMBL1431"
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config — every tool in the catalog, including this one — or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Connect to just the chembl pack

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chembl": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/chembl/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

chembl_mechanism