option forfeitures due to the departure of our former chief financial officer in 2022. Insurance, facilities, fees and other related costs and professional and consultant fees remained fairly consistent between the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.
Interest income (expense), net
Interest income, net was $2.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to interest expense, net of $0.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The increase in interest income was primarily due to higher interest yields on our investments in 2023. Interest income (expense), net includes interest income from investments, net of interest on borrowings associated with our Innovation Credit from Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland and lease interest.
Foreign currency exchange gain, net
For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, foreign currency exchange gain decreased by $6.3 million, from $6.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 to $0.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was due to the impact of the fluctuation of the USD currency rate compared to the Euro on transaction gains and losses on cash and investments and other transactions denominated in USD held and occurring in the Euro functional currency entity.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of September 30, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $104.6 million, compared to cash, cash equivalents and investments of $132.9 million as of December 31, 2022. 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 in March 2021, and proceeds from the Seagen Agreement and Janssen Agreement. Our expenditures are primarily related to research and development activities and general and administrative activities to support business operations.
In April 2022, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (EDA) with JMP Securities LLC (JMP) under which JMP, as our exclusive agent, at our discretion and at such times that we may determine from time to time, may sell over a three-year period from the execution of the agreement up to a maximum of $50 million of shares of our common stock. We have not sold any of our common shares under the EDA to date.
In September 2022, we entered into the Seagen Agreement for the development, manufacture and commercialization of SGN-EGFRd2 (LAVA-1223), an advanced preclinical asset that utilizes LAVA’s proprietary Gammabody technology to target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expressing solid tumors. Under the terms of the agreement, we received a $50 million nonrefundable upfront payment in October 2022.
In July 2023, under the terms of the Janssen Agreement, we received a milestone payment of $2.5 million from Janssen following the selection of a candidate novel bispecific antibody to engage gamma-delta T cells to an undisclosed tumor-associated antigen for the treatment of cancer in May 2023.
Cash and cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities are financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, cash consists of cash deposited with three financial institutions; account balances may exceed federally insured limits.
Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments as of September 30, 2023 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-1207; |