diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymc/default.nix
index 16aa22cf7fff..f8b3e637e0f1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymc/default.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 , pythonOlder
 , scipy
 , typing-extensions
+, setuptools
 }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
@@ -26,6 +27,10 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     hash = "sha256-tiOXbryY2TmeBVrG5cIMeDJ4alolBQ5LosdfH3tpVOA=";
   };
 
+  build-system = [
+    setuptools
+  ];
+
   postPatch = ''
     substituteInPlace setup.py \
       --replace-fail ', "pytest-cov"' ""