In 2017 the annual reception of the Zurich City Pharmacists (Verband Stadtzürcher Apotheken) took place on Thursday 8. June in the tower restaurant of the University of Zurich (Restaurant uniTurm).

The opening talk of the event by Winand Brinkmann was dedicated to the geological history and fossil life of Switzerland to delight guests from political institutions and civil society. The talk was held after the welcome address by association president Valeria Dora.

Winand Brinkmann, vertebrate palaeontologist at Zurich University and founder of PALAEOLOVE, informed the audience about the fossil reptiles of Switzerland. Focal points were the world-famous Late Triassic dinosaurs of Frick, Canton of Aargau, and the Middle Triassic saurians of the Monte San Giorgio, Canton of Ticino. The presentation ended with a pharmaceutical subject: the historic distillation of oil from the bituminous shales of the Middle Triassic Besano Formation or «Grenzbitumenzone» of the Monte San Giorgio at the beginning of the 20th century. The oil was sold as a cure under the brand Saurolo and used for medicinal purposes as an antiseptic and blistering ointment.

Throughout the meeting casts of the first Swiss carnivorous dinosaur skeleton from the Late Triassic of the Gruhalde locality of Frick and an original sauropod dinosaur egg from the Latest Cretaceous of Mongolia were on display in a corner of the restaurant premises converted into a temporary exhibition. Furthermore, on the very spot the PALAEOLOVE team informed about their project with advertising posters and product examples: ceramics with anatomical sound depictions of taxa, modern and historic models of fossil invertebrates and vertebrates. The time passed quickly enjoying interesting discussions, fine beverages and food as well as the magnificent panoramic view of the city of Zurich.