To overcome the antibiotic crisis, CESAR addresses two main aspects of antibiotic research: the identification of novel antibiotic classes as well as novel mode of actions and targets. The project is divided into two parts: within the infrastructure project for antibiotic research (ISA), CESAR is established at the Ruhr-University Bochum. In cooperation with the Lead Discovery Center GmbH, workflows are established and verified within the accompanying R&D project (VISA). Using system-based antibiotic research, we aim to make novel natural products and innovative natural substance classes available for development. CESAR is funded for three years with roughly 4 million euros by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund, EFRE) and the German state of North-Rhine-Westphalia.