The objective of this article is to analyze the transformation of a local pharmacy into the beginnings of a pharmaceutical industry. For this reason, it considers the process of the constitution and functioning of Laboratorio J.G.B., the property of Jorge Garcés Borrero, from its origins in Cali (Colombia) as an artesan establishment (1876); passing through its conversion into an industrial laboratory (1931); and culminating in its commercial development (1944). The hypothesis underlying this study stems from the idea that the local entrepreneurs in Colombia were capable of adapting to the conjunctures of capitalist development during the first half of the 20th century, and above all, in order to succeed they managed to conjugate a variety of factors ranging from innovation, accumulation of capital, diversification of products, purchase of industrial machinery, and retail sale.