Haouamine A 1 (1, Figure 1) is a biologically active and architecturally unique alkaloid whose striking feature is a [7]-azaparacyclophane macrocycle containing a highly deformed nonplanar aromatic ring. Somewhat mysteriously, 1 was discovered to exist as a mixture of two rapidly interconverting isomers in solution, a quality attributed to either atropisomerism of the bent arene or slowed pyramidal inversion at nitrogen. Recent computational work 2 supported a theory coupling the latter process with conformational reorganization of the tetrahydropyridine ring but could not rule out atropisomerism. 3 The total synthesis of 1 from this laboratory 4 also did not answer this question unequivocally due to an inability to control the atropisomer formed in the low-yielding cyclophaneforming step, which fortuitously favored the natural planar stereochemistry. 5,6 Here, we report a scalable and controllable route to 1 and its atropisomer (2) that features point-to-planar chirality transfer 7 via a one-step, chemoselective cyclohexenone to phenol oxidation to introduce strain within the macrocycle, a reaction that may find future use in strained chiral cyclophane synthesis. We also demonstrate that the strained cyclophane in 1 is crucial for anticancer activity in PC3 cells.To program planar chirality within the cyclophane macrocycle a reduced compound (3, Figure 1) was selected as the bent phenol precursor. Molecular models suggested that hybridization change of one of the para carbons of the cyclophane from sp 2 to sp 3 should significantly reduce the strain present within the macrocycle and thus make for an accessible intermediate 5c (numerous attempts to form the macrocycle with a preinstalled phenol in this 4 and other 5,6 laboratories have all failed). Furthermore, it was surmised that the point chirality introduced by such a change in hybridization could be used to select for the planar chirality present in 1 and 2. Saturated cyclophane 3 could then be traced † The Scripps Research Institute. ‡ Genentech Inc. 3 equiv), -78°C (for 7) or -95°C (for 8), 1 min, 60% of 9 + 23% 7, or 61% of 10; (e) BBr 3 (7.0 equiv), CH 2 Cl 2 , -78 to 5°C, 20 h, 63% for 1, or 60% for 2.