Vinca alkaloids have been widely used in cancer chemotherapy for over 30 years. 1 Extensive chemistry research has led to several total syntheses, 2 and numerous derivatives have been evaluated, with the aim of improving the therapeutic potency of this class. 3 However, only four drugs are currently available worldwide, namely vinblastine (1a), vincristine (1b), a semisynthetic amide related to vinblastine, vindesine4 (1c, Scheme 1), ...
