About

Explore our story—from our founding roots and core values to the passionate team driving pharmaceutical innovation forward.

History

Discover the journey behind our
foundation, growth, and breakthroughs in pharmaceutical innovation.

Phoenix Pharma Labs began with research conducted at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International), where Dr. John Lawson, a medicinal chemist, discovered a new family of opioid molecules. Later, while serving as a Visiting Scientist at Utah State University, Dr. Lawson founded Phoenix Pharma Labs in Utah to pursue the development of these compounds.


Since its founding, Phoenix Pharma Labs has discovered several additional novel analogs and established a research partnership with the University of Bath in the U.K. Through this collaboration, the company licensed 25 more innovative compounds, expanding its pipeline of non-addictive treatments for pain and addiction.

Values

At the heart of Phoenix Pharma Labs lies a strong value system focused on ethical research, patient well-being, and societal impact.

Members of the management team have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of opioid addiction. The CEO’s stepson has been seriously addicted to opioids for more than 20 years. Many of our stakeholders have friends and family who were addicted and have died from opioid overdoses.
The company’s scientists are highly regarded in their fields. Our scientific team includes world-leading subject experts. Other prominent scientists at leading institutions have also contributed to the company’s drug development technology.
The team has a clear vision of the company’s business goals and achievable strategies for how to reach them. The primary goal is to advance PPL-138 for acute and chronic pain as well as for treatment of addiction and PTSD and then partner with leading pharmaceutical companies to effectively bring them to market worldwide.

Management & Directors

William Crossman

President & CEO, Serial Entrepreneur - Early Stage Tech.

john Lawson

Founder, Board Chairman & Chief Scientist Primary Developer of Company’s IP

LAWRENCE TOLL PH.D.

Chief Neuro-pharmacologist Prof. Florida Atlantic University/ President International Narcotics Research Conference

TIMMY CHOU

Vice President & CFO CE/CFO for Emerging Companies

CHRIS TEW

VP & Board Member Sales, Marketing, Business Development Executive
Bio-Bill

William Crossman

President & CEO

Bio

john Lawson

Founder, Board Chairman

Bio
toll-lawrence-newsdesk

Lawrenc Toll PH.D

Chief Neuro-pharmacologist

Bio
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Timmy Chou

VP & CFO

Bio
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Chris Tew

VP & Board Member

Bio

Scientific Advisors

Daniel E. Levy,
Ph.D.

Lead for Chemical Synthesis & Manufacturing Scale-up

Timothy P. Bradshaw,
Ph.D.

Consultant, Preclinical and Clinical Trial Planning

David Heal PhD, DSc, FRSC, HonFBPhS

Consultant, Regulatory Affairs

Mei-Chuan (Holden) Ko, Ph.D.
Consultant, NHP Studies



James R Myer.
BS, DABT
Consultant, Tolicology



Chantal Deziel,
B.Sc, MBA

Consultant, Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Stephen Husbands, Ph.D.

Consultant, Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Mr. Crossman is responsible for the overall management of the Company and the creation, planning and execution of business and financial strategies and corporate development activities, including capital generation.
Crossman is a senior management professional with international and domestic experience as CEO, COO and CFO of enterprises ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 level companies. He has a proven track record of successfully commercializing various emerging technologies including manufacturing and industrial systems, computer software, marine bioremediation, nanotechnology and life sciences.

Mr.Crossman has assisted numerous early-stage companies to refine business strategies, commercialize new products, raise capital, license technologies, scale revenues and production, and expand into global markets. As CEO of ISOPur Fluid Technologies, Crossman led the company from product introduction to global growth with expanding applications in multiple vertical markets. Important strategic alliances were developed with Siemens, BHP, Atlas Copco, Hess, Sanwa Shoko and others, creating a platform for continued strong growth.

The value of the founding shareholders’ common stock increased more than tenfold in less than three years under Crossman’s leadership. As CFO of Otis Elevator Company – Asia Pacific Operations, Crossman evaluated, negotiated and developed acquisitions, joint ventures and major capital investments in China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Mr. Crossman contributed to profit growth of 20% per year and market share gains of 1% per year in this mature multi-billion dollar operation spanning 23 countries, despite aggressive competition from large Asian conglomerates. The joint ventures that he helped developed in China are among the most profitable operations of United Technologies Corp today. Bill holds a BS degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and a MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California – Berkeley.