Scalable enantioselective total synthesis of taxanes

Taxanes form a large family of terpenes comprising over 350 members, the most famous of which is Taxol (paclitaxel), a billion-dollar anticancer drug. Here, we describe the first practical and scalable synthetic entry to these natural products via a concise preparation of (+)-taxa-4(5),11(12)-dien-2-one, which has a suitable functional handle with which to access more oxidized members of its family. This route enables a gram-scale preparation of the ‘parent’ taxane—taxadiene—which is the largest quantity of this naturally occurring terpene ever isolated or prepared in pure form. The characteristic 6-8-6 tricyclic system of the taxane family, containing a bridgehead alkene, is forged via a vicinal difunctionalization/Diels–Alder strategy. Asymmetry is introduced by means of an enantioselective conjugate addition that forms an all-carbon quaternary centre, from which all other stereocentres are fixed through substrate control. This study lays a critical foundation for a planned access to minimally oxidized taxane analogues and a scalable laboratory preparation of Taxol itself. The taxane diterpene family is structurally complex and exhibits a wide range of biological activities, best exemplified by the successful drug Taxol. Here, two of the least oxidized taxanes in the family, ‘taxadienone’ and taxadiene, are prepared by total synthesis on a gram scale. The concise synthetic route described herein provides a scalable, enantioselective entry to the taxane family of natural products.