Intellectual Property and Access to Medicine, Are Patents the Barrier?

Especially now with the COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver debate, it comes to our mind the relationship between patent system and access to medicine. As in all over fields where intellectual property protection exists, without appropriate patent protection for inventions, research-based pharmaceutical companies, could not invest vast resources in research and development for pharmaceuticals, which ultimately would stall the development of innovative medicines and hinder access to them.
On average, people around the world are living significantly longer than their grandparents. In part, this is thanks to innovation in vaccines and to medicines reaching increasing numbers of patients. However, the situation with vaccines at the moment showed once again that many of the developing countries have significant problems with access to medicine in general. According to critics, patents are stifling biomedical research, for example by preventing researchers from accessing patented materials or methods they need for their studies. Furthermore, patents have also been blamed for impeding medical care by raising prices of essential medicines, such as antiretroviral drugs, in poor countries.
Noteworthy for this criticism is to mention the fact that in terms of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), most of the essential medicines to treat cardiovascular disease are off-patent, but still patients do not have access to them. This is an indication that patents are not a barrier to access. If we are to improve access, we need stronger health systems, more professional health workers, and we need to empower women in health care and to address the lifestyle factors that cause poor health.
What are your views in this matter?