diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/htslib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/htslib/default.nix
index d93b4fb2a5a7..2e3f9dec3194 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/htslib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/htslib/default.nix
@@ -14,9 +14,25 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   buildInputs = [ zlib bzip2 xz curl ];
 
-  configureFlags = [ "--enable-libcurl" ]; # optional but strongly recommended
+  configureFlags = if ! stdenv.hostPlatform.isStatic
+                    then [ "--enable-libcurl" ] # optional but strongly recommended
+                    else [ "--disable-libcurl" "--disable-plugins" ];
 
-  installFlags = [ "prefix=$(out)" ];
+
+  # In the case of static builds, we need to replace the build and install phases
+  buildPhase = lib.optional stdenv.hostPlatform.isStatic ''
+    make AR=$AR lib-static
+    make LDFLAGS=-static bgzip htsfile tabix
+  '';
+
+  installPhase = lib.optional stdenv.hostPlatform.isStatic ''
+    install -d $out/bin
+    install -d $out/lib
+    install -d $out/include/htslib
+    install -D libhts.a $out/lib
+    install  -m644 htslib/*h $out/include/htslib
+    install -D bgzip htsfile tabix $out/bin
+  '';
 
   preCheck = ''
     patchShebangs test/