diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 1f12cb6e..52b87656 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "opentelemetry-api>=1.27.0",
     "opentelemetry-semantic-conventions>=0.48b0",
     "typing_extensions>=4.12.2",
+    "setuptools>=69.0.0; python_version >= 3.12",
 ]
 
 [project.entry-points."instana"]