Bring Clinical Trials
to Cursor
Learn how to connect Harvard ClinicalTrials to Cursor and start using 16 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the Harvard ClinicalTrials MCP Server?
Connect to the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 — the largest database of clinical studies worldwide, maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
What you can do
- Study Search — Search 400K+ clinical trials from 220+ countries
- Condition Filter — Find trials for specific diseases (cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's)
- Intervention Filter — Search by drug, device, or therapy name
- Sponsor Search — Find trials by organization (Pfizer, NIH, Roche)
- Phase Filter — Filter by Phase 1-4 to track drug development stages
- Recruiting — Find trials currently enrolling participants
- Location — Search by city or country for accessible trials
- FDA Regulated — Filter for FDA-regulated drug and device trials
- Pediatric — Find trials including children
- Rare Diseases — Discover research for orphan conditions
- Results — Get outcome data from completed studies
Who is this for?
- Medical Researchers — systematic reviews and evidence synthesis
- Clinicians — find trial evidence for treatment decisions
- Patients — discover trials they may be eligible for
- Pharma Professionals — competitive landscape and pipeline analysis
Built-in capabilities (16)
gov API version and the timestamp of the most recent data update. Useful for verifying data currency and API availability. Get API version and data timestamp
g. "NCT04368728"). Returns title, status, phase, enrollment, conditions, interventions, eligibility criteria, sponsor, and study locations. Get clinical trial details by NCT ID
Not all trials report results — this is most useful for completed Phase 2-4 studies. Get primary outcome results for a trial
Essential for understanding the progress and currency of a study. Get the complete timeline of a clinical trial
Examples: "diabetes", "breast cancer", "Alzheimer disease", "COVID-19", "depression", "hypertension". Search trials by medical condition
Examples: "pembrolizumab", "metformin", "radiation therapy", "cognitive behavioral therapy". Search trials by drug or treatment
Essential for finding trials accessible to patients in a particular area. Search trials by geographic location
Phase values: "PHASE1", "PHASE2", "PHASE3", "PHASE4", "EARLY_PHASE1". Phase 3 trials are the largest and most definitive, while Phase 1 trials focus on safety. Search trials by study phase
Examples: "Pfizer", "National Cancer Institute", "Roche", "Novartis", "NIH". Search trials by sponsoring organization
Completed trials are more likely to have published results and outcomes data. Search completed clinical trials
Covers diagnostic devices, surgical tools, implants, and digital health technologies. Search medical device clinical trials
S. Food and Drug Administration. These trials follow the most rigorous regulatory standards. Search FDA-regulated drug trials
Essential for pediatricians, child health researchers, and parents seeking trials for children. Search pediatric clinical trials
Examples: "cystic fibrosis", "sickle cell disease", "Huntington disease", "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis". Search rare disease clinical trials
Essential for patients seeking to enroll in trials or researchers tracking active studies. Search for currently recruiting studies
gov database of over 400,000 clinical studies from 200+ countries. Returns NCT IDs, titles, status, phases, sponsors, conditions, interventions, and locations. Search 400K+ clinical trials worldwide
Why Cursor?
Cursor's Agent mode turns Harvard ClinicalTrials into an in-editor superpower. Ask Cursor to generate code using live data from Harvard ClinicalTrials and it fetches, processes, and writes. all in a single agentic loop. 16 tools appear alongside file editing and terminal access, creating a unified development environment grounded in real-time information.
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Agent mode turns Cursor into an autonomous coding assistant that can read files, run commands, and call MCP tools without switching context
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Cursor's Composer feature can generate entire files using real-time data fetched through MCP. no copy-pasting from external dashboards
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MCP tools appear alongside built-in tools like file reading and terminal access, creating a unified agentic environment
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VS Code extension compatibility means your existing workflow, keybindings, and extensions all work alongside MCP tools
Harvard ClinicalTrials in Cursor
Harvard ClinicalTrials and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Harvard ClinicalTrials to Cursor through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Harvard ClinicalTrials in Cursor
The Harvard ClinicalTrials MCP Server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS — a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts. All 16 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in Cursor only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
How Vinkius secures
Harvard ClinicalTrials for Cursor
Every tool call from Cursor to the Harvard ClinicalTrials MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an API key?
No. ClinicalTrials.gov is completely free and public. No authentication required.
What are clinical trial phases?
Phase 1 tests safety in small groups; Phase 2 evaluates efficacy; Phase 3 confirms effectiveness in large populations; Phase 4 monitors post-approval. Each phase provides progressively stronger evidence.
Can patients find trials to enroll in?
Yes. Use the recruiting filter to find trials currently accepting participants. You can filter by condition, location, and eligibility criteria to find accessible trials.
What is Agent mode and why does it matter for MCP?
Agent mode is Cursor's autonomous execution mode where the AI can perform multi-step tasks: reading files, editing code, running terminal commands, and calling MCP tools. Without Agent mode, Cursor operates in a simpler ask-and-answer mode that doesn't support tool calling. Always ensure you're in Agent mode when working with MCP servers.
Where does Cursor store MCP configuration?
Cursor looks for MCP server configurations in a mcp.json file. You can configure servers at the project level (.cursor/mcp.json in your project root) or globally (~/.cursor/mcp.json). Project-level configs take precedence.
Can Cursor use MCP tools in inline edits?
No. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode through the chat panel. Inline completions and Tab suggestions do not trigger MCP tool calls. This is by design. tool calls require user visibility and approval.
How do I verify MCP tools are loaded?
Open Settings → Features → MCP and look for your server name. A green indicator means the server is connected. You can also check Agent mode's available tools by clicking the tools dropdown in the chat panel.
Tools not appearing in Cursor
Ensure you are in Agent mode (not Ask mode). MCP tools only work in Agent mode.
Server shows as disconnected
Check Settings → Features → MCP and verify the server status. Try clicking the refresh button.
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