diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
index f2055ca9a791..81c05f4e97c2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 { lib
 , buildPythonPackage
 , fetchFromGitHub
+, six
 , future
 , mock
 , pytestCheckHook
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@
 buildPythonPackage rec {
   pname = "pymemcache";
   version = "3.5.1";
+  format = "setuptools";
 
   src = fetchFromGitHub {
     owner = "pinterest";
@@ -17,6 +19,10 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     sha256 = "sha256-DKqfv5gf9gzbnEPQSzy2mAaVYJZL9jmTKyGWVzj40T4=";
   };
 
+  propagatedBuildInputs = [
+    six
+  ];
+
   checkInputs = [
     future
     mock