Australia needs an alternative supply of EpiPens to fix the long-running shortages putting lives at risk, Federal MPs have warned.

They said patients are driving hundreds of kilometres to find a pharmacy with an available device, thanks to repeated supply issues.

The adrenaline auto-injectors are currently imported by a single company, Mylan Australia, which has reported long-running manufacturing issues impacting supply in Australia and abroad.

A House of Representative committee heard the problem had been so bad that patients had avoided using their devices out of fear they would not be able to replace them.