HEALTH CARE

Vestar Inc. to Help Develop Cancer Drug: The San Dimas company said it will develop and sell Taxol under an agreement with Towers Phytochemical Ltd., a closely held Canadian drug company. The two companies will sell the drug first in Canada if it wins regulatory approval there, Vestar said. It will also try to develop an improved version of Taxol by encapsulating the drug in tiny globules of water and fat. The venture makes Vestar one of many companies that have plans to sell Taxol or are developing improved formulations of the drug, which appears to have the potential to treat a wide range of cancers. Taxol is derived from natural sources, including the bark of the Pacific yew tree.