WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer says its experimental pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% among patients with mild-to-moderate infections.

The company announced Friday it will soon ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international regulators to authorize its pill, which is taken twice a day for five days.

A similar pill from competitor Merck is currently under FDA review and was cleared Thursday by U.K. regulators.

Drugmakers around the world have been racing to develop an easy-to-use pill to blunt the effects of COVID-19. All therapies now authorized in the U.S. require an IV or injection.