From 1972 to 1988, he taught at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and continues to serve as Adjunct Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences. From 1988 to 1996 he worked for Abbott Laboratories as its director of technical affairs and at the same time, he was professor of pharmacology at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi.. In 1997, he established his own consulting business, known as Pharmaceutical Scientist, Inc. In 2003 he founded Therapeutic Proteins, Inc. to develop biosimilar versions of biopharmaceuticals, such as filgrastim, erythropoietin, interferon, Pegfilgrastim, adalimumab, and other monoclonal antibodies. In March 2012, this company became Therapeutic Proteins International, LLC. The company has proprietary single-use bioreactor systems. In November 2016, the company changed its name to Adello Biologics.; in January 2019, Adello Biologics assets were purchased by Kasha Bioscience. In 2018, Niazi went on to establish another start up in biopharmaceuticals called Karyo Biologics.
In 2002 Niazi published the first complete translation of the ghazals of Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, known as "Ghalib" and another in 2009. Niazi hosts a show on Voice of America every Sunday, where he recites ghazals.
Research
Niazi has published over 100 research articles He is creator of variable volume distribution model to study safety and efficacy of drugs
FDA/WHO
Niazi has challenged FDA guidance through three Citizen Petitions that urge FDA to rationalize testing to allow faster entry of generic drugs and biosimilars to the market. In response to Niazi Citizen Petition, the FDA withdrew a pivotal guidance for the approval of biosimilars. Niazi has also challenged the World Health Organization guidance on approving biosimilars as weak on science leading to the possibility of use of unsafe biological drugs in developing countries
Inventions
Niazi owns 177 patents in the field of bioprocessing, digital technology, new drugs, new dosage forms and herbal medicines. Niazi is also a patent law practitioner
Awards
On 14 August 2012, the Government of Pakistan announced that President Asif Ali Zardari awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in Engineering Science to Sarfaraz. In March 2015, he received Alum of the Year Award from the University of Illinois. In September 2015, he was inducted into Chicago Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.
Textbooks and professional handbooks
Niazi has published numerous books; His textbooks are generally made available royalty-free in the developing world.
Textbook of Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics. Bsp, India. 2010..
Biosimilar and Interchangeable Biologics: From Cell Line to Commercial Launch, Two Volume Set 1st Edition. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC,CRC, 2015..
Love Sonnets of Ghalib. Rupa Publications, New Delhi, India, 2017..
Biosimilarlity—The FDA Perspective. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC, 2018..
Fundamentals of Bioprocess Engineering. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC, FL. 2015
Handbook of Bioequivalence Testing. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC, 2014..
Handbook of Preformulation: Drugs, Botanicals and Biological Pharmaceutical Products. Second edition. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC, 2019..