When Marquardt got the first call from Charlotte’s father, Johannes Hesseling, the girl was just over a year old. “When I looked at this picture of her with googly eyes and a burned nose, I actually already knew what that would be,” says Marquardt in retrospect. “With EPP, the blue portion of sunlight causes internal skin burns. You don’t always have to see them, but they cause terrible pain.”
A blood sample provided evidence: Charlotte actually suffered from the rare metabolic disease commonly known as “shadow jumper disease”. Because medicine has no real therapy options against EPP, Marquardt asked Charlotte’s father if he knew someone who could develop a cosmetic sun protection product specifically against blue light. Such a product, while unable to cure the disease itself, could allow Charlotte to be in the sun without suffering immediate burns. This is how I got in touch with Dr. Ludger Kolbe, senior scientist in the photobiology department at Beiersdorf. “It was immediately clear to us that we had to develop a cream that had a different effect than conventional sun protection. With EPP, not only UV protection is required, but also a good filter for the blue light range,” says Kolbe.
The development department at Beiersdorf quickly found an appropriate formula, which they incorporated into various prototypes of a special cosmetic sunscreen for Charlotte. The result is truly a blessing for Charlotte’s parents. They can now go on holiday with their three children without any worries and Charlotte can play outside for a limited period of time. “Every minute that Charlotte can now stay in the sun is worth its weight in gold to us,” says Johannes Hesseling, thanking the two researchers Marquardt and Kolbe.
Prof. Thorsten Marquardt, who works tirelessly and sometimes with detective ambition on the detection and therapy of metabolic diseases, is happy about the successful cooperation. “I had the idea and Dr. Kolbe had the know-how and the opportunities at Beiersdorf. If, as in this case, we can improve the lives of people living with a rare disease, what could be better than a doctor and researcher in the end?”
