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From D-Malic acid as chiral starting material, an efficient synthesis of the ester side chain of homoharringtonine has been developed. A cross-metathesis reaction leads to the formation of the key intermediate, which can be converted later by selective hydrogenation to the methyl ester side chain of homoharringtonine and deoxy-homoharringtoine in a total of six steps with 24.5% and 23.5% in yields, respectively.