Catalyzes the condensation of nicotinamide with 5- phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate to yield nicotinamide mononucleotide, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of NAD. It is the rate limiting component in the mammalian NAD biosynthesis pathway. The secreted form behaves both as a cytokine with immunomodulating properties and an adipokine with anti-diabetic properties, it has no enzymatic activity, partly because of lack of activation by ATP, which has a low level in extracellular space and plasma. Plays a role in the modulation of circadian clock function. NAMPT-dependent oscillatory production of NAD regulates oscillation of clock target gene expression by releasing the core clock component: CLOCK-BMAL1 heterodimer from NAD-dependent SIRT1- mediated suppression.