Criminal charges were filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore against the former vice president and director of research and development for Vitrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. of New York, alleging that he submitted rigged test results to win approval of three generic drugs from the Food and Drug Administration.

Steven Colton, 39, now living near Denver, is charged in a criminal information with three counts of making false statements to the FDA on three of Vitarine's products: verapamil hydrochloride sustained-release tablets, for angina; albuterol sulfate extended-release tablets, for asthma; and triamterene hydrochlorothiazide capsules, for hypertension.

If convicted, Dr. Colton faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

This is the first charge against Vitarine in the Baltimore-based investigation of the generic drug industry, said outgoing U.S. Attorney Breckinridge L. Willcox.