G&A Expenses. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, our G&A expenses increased by approximately $45,000, or 14%, to $363,000 from $318,000 for the same period in 2021. The changes in the G&A expenses are reflected in several areas. Increases in stock option expense (increase of $26,000), professional services (increase of $6,000), personnel related (increase of $13,000) and insurance (increase of $4,000) were offset by a decrease in investor relations (decrease of $1,000). We expect that our G&A expenses will remain steady over the next year.
Net Loss. Our Statements of Operations reflects a net loss of $424,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, versus a net loss of $380,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We have not commercialized any of our product candidates to date and have incurred significant losses since inception. Over the past couple of years, we have primarily financed our operations through the sale of a series of convertible promissory notes through private placements with accredited investors and the March and August 2014 private placements of common stock with GtreeBNT as well as our entry into the joint venture with ReGenTree in early 2015. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 contained an explanatory paragraph regarding our ability to continue as a going concern based upon our history of net losses and dependence on future financing in order to meet our planned operating activities.
We had cash and cash equivalents of $925,304 at March 31, 2022. Our current cash which includes the proceeds from the June 2021 private placement of $1,980,000 of common stock and warrants with several institutional and accredited investors, including members of management and the board and will be sufficient to fund planned operations through the end of 2022. We will need to secure additional funding in order to advance operations substantially beyond the fourth quarter of 2022. We may also receive funds from grants, new partnerships or the raising of additional capital if the market climate warrants. Additionally, we intend to continue to pursue additional partnering activities, particularly for RGN-352, our injectable systemic product candidate for cardiac and central nervous system indications.
Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 and 2021
Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $306,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to approximately $242,000 used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Net cash used in financing activities was approximately $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to approximately $22,000 used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Future Funding Requirements
The expenditures that will be necessary to execute our business plan are subject to numerous uncertainties that may adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources. Currently, RegeneRx has active partnerships in four major territories: the U.S., Europe, China and Pan Asia. In each case, the cost of development is being borne by our partners with no financial obligation for RegeneRx. Patient accrual, treatment, and follow-up for ophthalmic trials are, in general, relatively fast, as opposed to most other clinical efforts.
We still have significant clinical assets to develop, primarily RGN-352 (injectable formulation of Tß4 for cardiac and CNS disorders) in the U.S., Pan Asia, and Europe, and RGN-259 in the EU. Our goal is to wait until positive results are obtained from the current ophthalmic clinical program before moving into the EU with RGN-259. If successful, we believe this should allow us to obtain a higher value for the asset at that time. However, we intend to continue to develop RGN-352, either by obtaining grants to fund a Phase 2a clinical trial in the cardiovascular or central nervous system fields or finding a suitable partner with the resources and capabilities to develop it as we have with RGN-259. We are also continuing to file patent applications for methods of utilizing the asset for certain medical indications. Our capital resources remain limited; therefore, we will need to secure additional operating capital to continue operations substantially beyond the end of 2022. A sale of common stock and warrants, a convertible instrument or additional partnering of licensed rights are possible sources of operating capital in the future. In addition, the length of time required for clinical trials varies substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of a product candidate.