Is the shift wire routed correctly to the clamping bolt? You have not mentioned the brand of derailleur but many Shimano ones have a somewhat counterintuitive cable routing.

Another possibility is that your cable adjustment is incorrect. I suggest that you follow this procedure Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Rear Derailler Adjustments (derailleur)

A third possibility is that the shifter and derailleur are a mis-mated pair and will never play right.

I have 2 bikes with Biopace rings and don't need to do anything unusual as regards derailleur adjustment to obtain good performance.