A bridging chemistry process was developed to form an ether bridge between 6-O and 11-O of erythromycin A via a tandem or stepwise palladium-catalyzed bis-π-allylation. By applying this bridging process, new 6, 11-O-bridged bicyclic ketolides (BBKs) were synthesized. These BBKs showed good antibacterial activities against the macrolide-susceptible strains as well as mef-resistant strains and served as a good core for further modifications to ...