We identified a diterpene of natural origin; (R)-10-hydroxy-6-methoxy-1,1,4a,7-tetramethylphenanthrene-2,9(1H,4aH)-dione , during a high throughput screening campaign. This compound induces the activation of caspase-3, an apoptotic effector. In an effort to generate derivatives of this compound we devised a synthetic methodol. which allowed us to obtain a first series of analogs. In order to target some specifics analogs of general structure 1, a modified synthetic route was devised. A series of modifications on ring C was achieved by using a Wittig-Heck approach. We will describe the synthetic approaches used in this project along with examples of biol. active compounds