Patient perspective is important in all medical research and particularly in drug development. The PREFER project aims to assess when and how patient preferences on benefits and risks should be incorporated into decisions on medicinal products. While industry, regulatory authorities, health technology assessment bodies, reimbursement agencies and patient organisations all agree that patient preferences are very valuable, there is little guidance on conducting and using such studies. The goal of PREFER will be to provide a set of systematic methodologies and recommendations to assess, engage and include patient perspectives during the development, approval, and post-approval of new therapies. PREFER brings together experts from academic research institutions, pharmaceutical companies, patient organisations, a health technology assessment body, and small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition the consortium has set up stakeholder advisory groups to work closely with patients, regulators, health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and payers, to ensure that recommendations are evidence based, relevant and useful.