Desperate family unable to get daughter's life-saving seizure medicine

Metro Detroit family desperate for daughter's seizure medicine

Nancy Sovran is desperate to find seizure medication for her daughter and she says the generic form won’t work for her daughter Hope.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Nancy Sovran is desperate to find seizure medication for her daughter.

"For the past month we have been trying to get Hope’s seizure medicine filled, Trileptal," said Nancy. "No one in the state of Michigan has Trileptal - they have generic but not Trileptal."

"It’s frustrating," Hope said.

Nancy says the generic form won’t work for her daughter Hope.

"She has to have a name brand because if she takes the generic, she could potentially have a break-out seizure which has happened before," Nancy said.

The entire family kept searching for it, finding the medication in South Carolina where it plans to travel to.

"We found a pharmacy out of state that has it, but Michigan Medicaid won’t pay for it," said her father, Andrew Sovran.

"They told us, no travel exemption would be submitted for Hope," Nancy said.

FOX 2: "Why?"

"They couldn’t give us a reason for Hope," Nancy said. "This drug did not fall under the ... and I'm like, this is a life-saving drug."

Andrew said to fill the drug on a monthly basis costs about $4,000.

And just as they received that news from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Hope’s medication has run out.

"And we had just enough until today, Nancy said.

So the FOX 2 Problem Solvers got to work contacting the pharmaceutical company and the state of Michigan for answers.

Novartis told FOX 2 that there is a temporary shortage of Trileptal Oral Suspension because of production delays.

The drugmaker also released a statement that reads in part:

"We expect limited supply through June, after which time the situation will improve as we rebuild stock. We are making every effort to minimize this temporary interruption."

The Problem Solvers also wanted to know if an emergency supply could be sent to Hope and the drugmaker responded with good news:

"Novartis is able to ship Trileptal to the patient's pharmacy."

This family says it is not just fighting for Hope, but for all families that are having challenges getting access to much-needed medications.

"I worry about families because I run a nonprofit and there are families that aren’t getting this drug either," Nancy said.

The entire statement by Michigan Medicaid says:

"The Michigan Medicaid program provides coverage at out-of-state pharmacies enrolled in Medicaid to ensure beneficiaries can get the medications they need when and where they need them. If a pharmacy is not enrolled in the Medicaid program, we can work to help get them enrolled. We urge beneficiaries with questions or issues with their coverage to call the Beneficiary Helpline at 800-642-3195"

The entire statement by the drugmaker states:

"Novartis is experiencing a temporary shortage of Trileptal® (oxcarbazepine) oral suspension due to manufacturing delays. We expect limited supply through June, after which time the situation will improve as we rebuild stock. We are making every effort to minimize this temporary interruption. Trileptal tablets are not affected by this delay and remain available."