An intramolecular Heck reaction was performed with palladium(II) aceta
te on iodoethylenic esters 6-7 to afford an ethylenic seven-membered s
ystem 8-9. alpha-alkylation of 8 was investigated to afford the corres
ponding a-methyl compound 10, This new family of compounds 11-12 gave
access to potential antiinflammatory agents. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.