Filipin III (1), a polyenemacrolideantibiotic, has been synthesized for the first time. The polyol chain was assembled using a stereoselective carbon-carbon bond forming strategy previously developed in our lab: a cyanohydrin acetonide alkylation and reductive decyanation sequence. The polyene segment was prepared from L-ascorbic acid. These two components were coupled using Yamaguchi's esterification