Interpreting P-values in Hypothesis Testing

In an investigation of whether a new drug is more effective than a placebo in reducing the duration of a common cold, researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with a significance level ( α) of 0.05. After analyzing the results, they calculated a p-value of 0.03 for their hypothesis that the drug is indeed more effective than the placebo. Based on this outcome, the researchers need to interpret the p-value in the context of their hypothesis test.

Specifically, in the context of hypothesis testing, which of the following interpretations of the p-value is correct?