The naturally occurring taxoid baccatin VI has been converted to various 1-deoxypaclitaxel derivatives by selective deacylation followed by attachment of the C-13 side chain. The bioactivities of the resulting analogues were determined in both tubulin polymerization and cytotoxicity assays, and several analogues with activity comparable to that of paclitaxel were discovered. It thus appears that the 1-hydroxyl group is not necessary for the activity of paclitaxel.