A British drugs company is set to conduct genetic research in China and Brazil in a money-saving move which will also help sidestep GM protests in the UK.

Nycomed-Amersham's work would help develop genetically modified products including pigs, rice, citrus fruit and rainforest species. The overseas work would be carried out through joint ventures. Sir William Castell, Nycomed-Amersham chief executive, said shifting genomic research to China would make it significantly cheaper than doing it in Europe or the US. The group could save $50m (£35m) a year by employing 1,000 PhD-level researchers in China instead of Europe. British drugs companies have also been deterred from investing at home because of the growing protest movements against GM research and animal testing.

Huntingdon Life Sciences, the drug testing group targeted by animal rights protesters, was forced to turn to US lenders to secure a £34m financial lifeline in August after attacks on its backers. Last year William Steere, chairman of Pfizer, the US drugs group, said: "Europe seems to be entering a period of the dark ages, where witchcraft and sorcery are prevailing. There's a definite anti-science attitude in Europe that is not as pronounced in the US."

The projects would be warmly supported in China, which has embraced the idea of genetically modified crops as a means of feeding its huge population. Dr Jim Brown, head of Asia Pacific operations, played down accusations of "genetic piracy" levelled at western drugs groups hunting for cures in the developing world. He said patents would be majority-owned by research institutes in China and Brazil.