Cadila lost three licences: Aciloc and Aciloc+ differ by a '+' — and an API

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration cancelled the sales and distribution licences of three Cadila Pharmaceuticals carrier-cum-forwarding warehouses in Pune, Nagpur and Thane over regulatory violations involving the Aciloc and Aciloc+ brands, NDTV Profit reported. Inspections in July 2026 at Bhiwandi, Wadki and Nimji found medicines containing different active ingredients marketed under closely similar names, creating a risk of patients receiving the wrong medicine.

Aciloc 150 and Aciloc 300 contained ranitidine; Aciloc 150+ and Aciloc 300+ contained famotidine — with only the '+' symbol distinguishing them. Regulators also found the '+' versions sold in 30- and 20-tablet packs against the prescribed 14-tablet pack size for famotidine under Schedule P-1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, and documented supply mismatches where wholesalers who ordered ranitidine-based Aciloc 150/300 received the famotidine-based '+' versions instead.

Cadila challenged the action in the Bombay High Court, which on 11 August 2026 ordered fresh show-cause notices and a hearing. After written submissions and personal hearings, the licensing authority found the explanations unsatisfactory and passed reasoned orders cancelling the licences. The FDA also noted Gujarat authorities had cancelled manufacturing licences for the famotidine tablets with retrospective effect from 2 June 2026 — a fact it said was not disclosed during the proceedings.

Sales and distribution licences cancelled for three warehouses; Gujarat separately cancelled Famotidine manufacturing licences backdated to 2 June 2026.

Only a '+' symbol separated two different active ingredients on the shelf — the lookalike naming made selection errors almost effortless.

The risk was not hypothetical: wholesalers ordering one drug were physically shipped the other.

Pack sizes for the famotidine versions broke the Schedule P-1 prescription of 14 tablets.

After a court-ordered redo, the company's explanations again failed to satisfy the licensing authority.

Brand architecture for drugs is a safety device: when a single '+' is the only difference between two different active ingredients, the naming system itself manufactures the wrong-medication risk.

The cancellations stand after the fresh show-cause process ordered by the Bombay High Court on 11 August 2026. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe urged consumers to check the generic name and dosage on labels and told retailers to dispense strictly as prescribed; the Gujarat manufacturing-licence cancellation back to 2 June 2026 surfaced only through the FDA's order.