Shares of cannabis company Tilray jumped as much as 21.9 percent in intraday trading Tuesday after the Canadian marijuana producer announced it has entered a global supply and distribution agreement with Swiss drugmaker Novartis.

The company plans to work with Novartis' generic drug business Sandoz and supply non-smokable and non-combustible medical cannabis products where it is legally allowed, Tilray announced in a press release. As a part of the deal, Tilray and Sandoz may co-brand certain products as well as develop new ones.

"This agreement represents a major milestone in the movement to provide access to safe, GMP-certified medical cannabis to patients in need across the world," Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday.

The stock, which was up by about 17 percent in the afternoon, surged by as much as 21.9 percent over Monday's closing price of $65.89 a share to an intraday high of $80.30 a share.