diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 904c4dd7..ecc037db 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ In progress (unreleased)
 * :gh:issue:`1118` CI: Don't copy SSH private key to temporary dir
 * :gh:issue:`1118` CI: Don't share temporary directory between test groupings
 * :gh:issue:`1256` CI: Upgrade Github jobs from Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04 & 24.04
+* :gh:issue:`1263` packaging: Fix InvalidVersion in release versions
 
 
 v0.3.22 (2025-02-04)
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 375a96ff..1639d383 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ def grep_version():
         match = version_pattern.search(fp.read())
     if match is None:
         raise ValueError('Could not find __version__ string in %s', path)
-    return '.'.join(str(part) for part in match.groups())
+    # E.g. '0.1.2', '0.1.3dev'
+    return '.'.join(str(part) for part in match.groups() if part)
 
 
 def long_description():