diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/bwa/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/bwa/default.nix
index 7212b42198c..10859d9e8c1 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/bwa/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/bwa/default.nix
@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   buildInputs = [ zlib ];
 
+  # Avoid hardcoding gcc to allow environments with a different
+  # C compiler to build
+  preConfigure = ''
+    sed -i '/^CC/d' Makefile
+  '';
+
   # it's unclear which headers are intended to be part of the public interface
   # so we may find ourselves having to add more here over time
   installPhase = ''
@@ -27,6 +33,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license     = licenses.gpl3;
     homepage    = "http://bio-bwa.sourceforge.net/";
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ luispedro ];
-    platforms = [ "x86_64-linux" ];
+    platforms = platforms.x86_64;
   };
 }