In the A/B approach to cobyric acid, the Harvard A-D-component was coupled to the ETH B-C-component between rings D and C, and then closed to a corrin between rings A and B. Both these critical steps were accomplished by C,C-coupling via sulfide contraction, a new reaction type developed in the synthesis of the B-C-component at ETH. The A-D-component was synthesized at Harvard from a ring-A precursor (prepared from achiral starting materials), and a ring-D precursor prepared from (−)-camphor. A model A-D-component was used to explore the coupling conditions; this component differed from the A-D-component used in the final synthesis by having as the functional group at the ring-D f-side chain a methyl ester group (like all other side chains) instead of a nitrile group.