LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk said

on Wednesday it had agreed a price under the U.S. Medicare

scheme for semaglutide, the active ingredient in its key drugs

Ozempic and Wegovy, in a deal that some analysts said sounded

less onerous than feared.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act requires pharmaceutical

companies to negotiate drug prices with the Medicare health

insurance programme, which covers more than 60 million people.

The price will take effect in 2027. The announcement came

alongside Novo's third-quarter earnings and a cut to its 2025

financial guidance for the fourth time this year.

It also comes the day after a White House source said Novo

and U.S. rival Eli Lilly ( LLY ) were expected to announce deals

this week with the Trump administration to cut prices of their

weight-loss drugs in exchange for Medicare coverage.

Novo did not disclose the agreed price, but said that if

applied this year it would have had a "low-single-digit negative

impact on sales".

JP Morgan analysts estimated this could equate to around a 6

billion Danish crown ($937 million) hit to sales, adding that

was "better than feared" and could offset the negative news from

the guidance cut.

"The shares could ultimately be in positive territory

today," they wrote in a note.

Novo's stock was up 2.2% at 0947 GMT, after falling as much

as 3.7% in early trade.

Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at mutual fund and Novo

shareholder Union Investment, also said that Novo's comments on

the U.S. deal "implies a price cut less than feared".

The IRA, implemented under President Joseph Biden in 2022,

allows Medicare to negotiate prices on select high-cost drugs.

Ozempic and Wegovy are among 15 medicines in the law's second

round of negotiations.

($1 = 6.4029 Danish crowns)