General and administrative expenses
Below were our general and administrative expenses:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Six Months Ended | | | |
| | June 30, | | | |
(in thousands) | | 2022 | | 2021 | | Variance |
Personnel-related expenses | | $ | 2,944 | | $ | 1,375 | | $ | 1,569 |
Professional and consultant fees | | | 1,734 | | | 990 | | | 744 |
Insurance, facilities, fees and other related costs | | | 1,488 | | | 825 | | | 663 |
Share-based compensation expense | | | 1,148 | | | 1,301 | | | (153) |
| | $ | 7,314 | | $ | 4,491 | | $ | 2,823 |
Personnel-related costs increased by $1.6 million due to the increase in general and administrative headcount and severance costs. Insurance, facilities, fees and other related costs increased by $0.7 million primarily due to insurance programs established at the time of our IPO. Professional and consultant fees increased by $0.7 million due primarily to costs associated with being a public company.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net was $0.3 million for both the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Interest expense, net includes interest on borrowings associated with our Innovation Credit from Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, lease interest and negative interest on cash deposits held at financial institutions, net of interest income.
Foreign currency exchange loss, net
For the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net increased by $5.2 million, from a loss of $0.9 million during the three months ended June 30, 2021 to a gain of $4.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2022. This increase was due to the fluctuation of the USD currency rate compared to the Euro as a result of transaction gains and losses on cash and investments and other transactions denominated in USD held and occurring in a Euro functional currency entity.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of June 30, 2022, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $110.7 million, compared to cash, cash equivalents and investments of $133.2 million as of December 31, 2021. We have historically funded our operations primarily through the issuance of preference shares prior to our IPO and from the sale of common shares in our IPO. Our expenditures are primarily related to research and development activities and general and administrative activities to support business operations.
In March 2021, we received net proceeds from our IPO of approximately $88.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $7.0 million and offering costs of $4.5 million. In April 2021, we received additional net proceeds from the IPO of $5.9 million from the exercise of the overallotment option from the underwriters. In addition, we received $56.6 million in net proceeds from our Series C financing, net of repurchasing Series A Preferred and common shares in March 2021.
Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments as of June 30, 2022 are sufficient to meet our projected cash requirements for at least 12 months from the date of this report. However, our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to:
| ● | continue the ongoing and planned development of our product candidates, including LAVA-051, LAVA-1207, LAVA-1223 and LAVA-1266; |