Biotech company spurns Manhattan

? A biotechnology company that had planned to move its headquarters from South Africa to Manhattan has changed its mind.

Instead, city officials say Megastarter intends to build its lab and temporary production facility in Wamego, 16 miles east of Manhattan.

Megastarter is developing a supplement that reduces digestive problems and weight loss in cattle as they transition from feeding grass to grain in feedlots.

The Kansas BioScience Authority and city officials had agreed to provide almost $1.5 million to complete a 5,000-square-foot lab for the company in a Kansas State University research park.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that lease negotiations stopped in April after the company wouldn’t agree to reimburse the city if the lease was terminated early.