Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women. In general, pancreatic tumors are hypovascular and nutrient-deprived when compared to normal tissue or other cancer lines. As such, new cancer therapeutics are being investigated that utilize the “anti-austerity” strategy. An anti-austerity agents removes the ability of cancer cells to survive under nutrient deficient condition while cells with adequate nutrition remain unaffected. Isolated from kernels of Vietnamese Caesalpinia sappan Linn (Caesalpiniaceae), tomocin A and other related diterpenes have been found to display anti-austerity abilities towards PANC-1 cancer lines. The goal of the current work would be to propose the first total synthesis of tomocin A. The route would go through intermediates that could be exploited to synthesize related cassane diterpenes that also exhibit anti-austerity properties. The first total synthesis of phanginin K will also be accomplished in the route towards tomocin A. Through the total synthesis of tomocin A, and access to related derivatives, a structure activity relationship (SAR) analysis of the diterpenes against pancreatic cancer could be examined.