Enantioselective addition of an alkyllithium compound across a double bond is achieved by the complexation of various primary or secondary organolithium compounds with (−)‐sparteine [Eq. (a)]. This synthetic route is effective, simple, and may be useful for the synthesis of chiral disubstituted cyclopropanes.

Tiacumicin B is an antibiotic endowed with the remarkable ability to interact with a new biological target, giving it an inestimable potential in the context of the ever-growing and worrisome appearance of resistances of bacteria and mycobacteria to antibiotics. The synthesis of an aglycone of tiacumicin B ready for glycosylation is reported. The key steps of this approach are a [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement, a Pd/Cu-catalyzed allene-alkyne cross-coupling, a E-selective cross-metathesis, and a final ring-size selective macrolactonization.