Two novel tiazofurin analogues, 2-(2-benzamido-2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosyl)thiazole-4-carboxamide 4 and 2-(2-azido-2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosyl)thiazole-4-carboxamide 5, have been synthesized starting from d-glucose and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against several human leukaemia and solid tumour cell lines.