diff --git a/gnu/packages/bioinformatics.scm b/gnu/packages/bioinformatics.scm
index e24d70e569..1ceb429169 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/bioinformatics.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/bioinformatics.scm
@@ -16229,6 +16229,10 @@ (define-public python-hicmatrix
      (list
       #:phases
       '(modify-phases %standard-phases
+         (add-after 'unpack 'remove-invalid-syntax
+           (lambda _
+             (substitute* "setup.py"
+               ((".\\*\"") "\""))))
          (replace 'check
            (lambda* (#:key tests? #:allow-other-keys)
              (when tests?