Filipin is a mixture of chemical compounds first isolated by chemists at the Upjohn company in 1955 from the mycelium and culture filtrates of a previously unknown actinomycete, Streptomyces filipinensis.

Although the polyene macrolide antibiotics exhibit potent antifungal activity, most are too toxic for therapeutic applications, with the exceptions of amphotericin B and nystatin A1.

Unlike amphotericin B and nystatin A1 which form sterol-dependent ion channels, filipin is thought to be a simple membrane disrupter.

This method of detecting cholesterol in cell membranes is used clinically in the study and diagnosis of Type C Niemann-Pick disease.

[2][3] The relative and absolute stereochemistry of filipin III was determined by 13C NMR acetonide analysis.