Joseph Panetta was raised in Syracuse, New York, where he attended Le Moyne College for his undergraduate degree. While he originally wanted to attend medical school, he opted to join the work force instead and began working at Byrne Dairy in its quality control lab. In the latter half of the seventies, Panetta took an interest in environmental science and attended the University of Pittsburgh for his PhD in public health with a concentration in environmental and industrial health science. He aspired to work for the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] and after traveling to Washington, DC in 1979, began working for them in their pesticides and toxic substances group. At the EPA, Panetta ran teams of toxicologists, environmental scientists, economists, and industrial hygienists to determine the health risks of pesticides. Enjoying the policy aspects of the job, Panetta moved to the EPA’s policy office, where he worked as a senior policy analyst for two years. Panetta then decided he wanted to gain experience in industry and left his job at the EPA to become the manager of regulatory affairs at the Pennwalt Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While at Pennwalt, Panetta was enlisted to encourage the company’s CEO and president to approve the production of bacteria in a fermenter for recombinant proteins.

When Pennwalt’s plans for producing recombinant proteins was turned down, Panetta was recruited by Mycogen in San Diego, California, which wanted to produce the first genetically engineered pesticide. He joined the company in a regulatory position, and the pesticide was approved in 1991 with the help of Panetta who worked with the EPA to get approval. After getting approval for their pesticide, Mycogen began working with seed companies, looking to commercialize genetically modified seeds with the anti-pest properties of their pesticide. The seeds were approved in 1995, after which Mycogen was purchased by Dow AgroSciences. With Dow AgroSciences, Panetta accepted a position as a global leader of government affairs, but a year later left for Biocom. At Biocom, Panetta promoted San Diego as a biotech hub, visiting venture capitalists to help raise money for biotech investments and creating a training program for executives. Biocom also helps to purchase supplies and services to its members at a discount.