UPDATE 1-Antisoma says finishing 2009 in strong position

* Says has sufficient funds for projects until mid-2011

* Novartis plans to develop ASA404 to treat breast cancer

* Antisoma shares up 4.6 pct (Adds details)

Nov 10 (Reuters) - British cancer specialist Antisoma (ASM.L) said it was finishing 2009 in a strong position with significant cash resources and its two key drugs to treat lung cancer and blood cancer well into late-stage trials.

Shares of the company were up 4.6 percent at 34 pence at 0909 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.

Antisoma said it had 67 million pounds ($112.3 million) at June-end, which was sufficient to support its priority programmes until mid-2011, before which data on key Phase III trials of the drugs -- ASA404 and AS1413 -- are expected.

"We are moving forward with our plans to transition from a company focused on developing cancer drugs into one that can also successfully commercialise them," the company said in a statement.

The company said its partner Novartis (NOVN.VX) planned to develop its experimental lung cancer drug ASA404 for another major indication to treat breast cancer and expected more details from the Swiss drugmaker before the year-end.

Antisoma said it was enrolling patients for a late-stage trial of AS1413 to treat secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a type of blood cancer that evolves from prior bone marrow disease or, after radiotherapy or chemotherapy for other cancers.

The company said it expected AS1413, if successful, to achieve worldwide sales running into "hundreds of millions of dollars" as a treatment for secondary AML. ($1=.5968 Pound) (Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)