Iminosugars form undoubtedly the most attractive of carbohydrate mimics reported so far. In these structures, the substitution of the endocyclic oxygen of sugars by a basic nitrogen atom leads to remarkable biological properties and raises many challenges in organic synthesis. Since the discovery of their biological activity as glycosidase inhibitors in the 1970’s, these polyvalent molecules have progressively made their way from the laboratory to the clinic. The impressive series of discoveries...