I I1 I11 suitably constructed thioacrylates might well be useful intermediates in the synthesis of such fused P-lactam antibiotics, the group X providing the nitrogen atom, and either X or the thioacrylate function the carbonyl group. Thioacrylates, moreover, are conveniently prepared in either the cis or the trans geometry, and preservation of this geometry during cyclization might permit a stereoselective penicillin-cephalosporin synthesis.