← Back to Blog

MAMMAL Drug–Target Interaction API: Predict Binding Affinity with Ease

October 8, 2026

Scientist in laboratory holding petri dish with cultures, wearing protective gloves and coat.

Photo by Timothy Nkwasibwe on Pexels

The MAMMAL drug–target interaction API, available as part of the free Cure Cancer With AI API, is a powerful tool designed to estimate the binding affinity between drugs and their target proteins. This API leverages the IBM MAMMAL model to provide researchers and developers with crucial insights into drug interactions, facilitating the early stages of drug discovery without the need for complex local setups.

Why This Endpoint Matters

Estimating how strongly a compound binds to a target protein is an essential step in drug discovery. Understanding binding affinities can help researchers prioritize which compounds to take further along the development pipeline. The MAMMAL API streamlines the process, making it easier for developers to integrate binding affinity predictions into their workflows, whether in academic research or in pharmaceutical development. The ability to access this data via an API means faster iterations, reduced overhead, and the potential for innovative drug discovery solutions.

How to Use It

The MAMMAL drug–target interaction API can be accessed using the POST method at the following path:

POST https://curecancerwithai.com/api/v1/mammal/dti

To make a request to this endpoint, you will need to provide a JSON body containing the following parameters:

  • target_seq: The amino-acid sequence of the target protein.
  • drug_seq: The SMILES representation of the drug compound.
  • optional norm_y_mean: Overrides for normalization mean (if needed).
  • optional norm_y_std: Overrides for normalization standard deviation (if needed).

The response from the API will return a JSON object structured as follows:

{
  "data": {
    "pKd": 
  }
}

Here, pKd represents the predicted binding affinity value in the form of −log₁₀ Kd, where higher values indicate stronger predicted binding between the drug and the target.

To illustrate how to use this endpoint, here’s an example using curl:

curl -X POST https://curecancerwithai.com/api/v1/mammal/dti \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ccw_live_YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "target_seq": "AGCTAGCTAGCTAGCT",
  "drug_seq": "CC(=O)Oc1ccccc1C(=O)O"
}'

What You Can Build

The possibilities with the MAMMAL drug–target interaction API are vast. Here are some concrete use cases that can enhance your research or application:

  • Compound Library Ranking: Use the API to evaluate and rank a library of compounds against a specific target protein. This helps in quickly identifying promising candidates for further testing.
  • Hit Triage: Before conducting expensive and time-consuming assays, researchers can triage hits based on predicted binding affinities, conserving resources and time.
  • Discovery Pipeline Integration: Incorporate binding-affinity signals into your existing drug discovery pipelines, allowing for more informed decision-making and prioritization of compounds.

Get Started for Free

Getting started with the MAMMAL drug–target interaction API is easy and free! You can create your API key at /api-keys and explore the full documentation at /developers. Remember, the free tier allows up to 100 requests per hour per key, making it accessible for researchers and developers alike.

It’s important to note that while the predictions generated by this API can provide valuable insights, they are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The data and model predictions should be viewed as informational and research signals only.

Conclusion

The MAMMAL drug–target interaction API is a significant step forward in making drug discovery more efficient and accessible. By providing crucial binding affinity predictions, it empowers developers and researchers to innovate in ways that were previously limited by resource constraints. Start leveraging this powerful tool today and contribute to the ongoing fight against cancer.

To dive deeper into practical AI-for-cancer-research updates, explore our latest blog posts, learn more about our mission, and see how you can support ongoing work on our donations page.