We describe an efficient process for the preparation of tazarotene starting from 4, 4-dimethyl- 6-bromothiochromane S-oxide (9), 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (10), and 6-chloronicotinic acid ethyl ester (8). Our synthetic pathway compares favorably over the previously reported procedures since tazarotene was prepared straightforwardly using cheap reagents and without the employment of hazardous organometallic compounds. The process is based ...